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Modi thanks Rajapaksa for pardoning Indian drug convicts
View(s):Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday night to thank him for pardoning the five Indian fishermen who had been found guilty of trafficking in drugs to Sri Lanka and given a death sentence by the Colombo High Court.
The Delhi-Colombo telephone call was the second between the two leaders. The Indian premier made the first call to make a request for clemency for the drug peddlers’ following protests in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu seeking New Delhi’s intervention in the matter.
The two leaders are due to meet again early next week when they attend the 18th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation at Katmandu in Nepal. A one-on-one meeting between the two leaders is also scheduled.