Nawaz Sharif and Ashraf Ghani may break ice in Paris

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is set to meet Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in a bid to improve severed ties, officials said.

There was no official word on when and where the two leaders will meet. However, there are indications the meeting might take place in Paris on the on the sidelines of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP21 or CMP11. The conference will begin on November 30 and continue until December 11.

Relations between the two neighbours hit the lowest ebb after Kabul blamed Islamabad for an upsurge in Taliban violence that followed a bitter leadership row in the orthodox militia triggered by the confirmation of the death of its longtime leader Mullah Omar in July this year.

A Pakistani delegation met Mr Ghani in Kabul last day to break the ice. The delegation of Pakistani Pashtun political leaders persuaded him to meet Mr Sharif in an attempt to put the acrimonious relationship between the two countries behind.

Mr Sharif, who is currently in Malta for the Commonwealth Summit, will attend the opening ceremony of the Paris summit on Monday, according to minister for climate change Zahid Hamid.

Earlier, China’s ambassador in Kabul Deng Xijun advised Mr Ghani to attend the ministerial meeting of the Heart of Asia.

A media report said earlier there was a proposal from British Prime Minister David Cameron that Mr Sharif and Mr Ghani meet in Paris, however, the latter did not agree. “Consequently, Pakistan has sent the Pashtun leaders to Kabul to persuade Ghani (for the meeting),” according to the report.