First time in 17 months

The leaders of rivals India and Pakistan have met for the first time in 17 months, at a summit in Kazakhstan, officials said, despite renewed tensions over Kashmir.

Indian premier Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif shook hands and exchanged greetings late Thursday at the opening of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Astana.

Modi and Sharif last met on the sidelines of the Paris climate summit in December 2015 before Modi surprised the world with an impromptu visit to Pakistan the same month.

An Indian foreign ministry official said that as it was the first contact between the leaders since Sharif underwent surgery, Modi enquired about the Pakistani leader's health.

"He also enquired about Sharif's mother and his family", the official said on condition of anonymity.

Following Modi's visit to Pakistan, relations quickly deteriorated after suspected Pakistan-based militants attacked an Indian airbase in Pathankot in January 2016 killing six Indian soldiers.

Yesterday, India and Pakistan formally joined the SCO, a security bloc spearheaded by China and Russia.

Leaders of the largely symbolic body -- including Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping -- formally signed off on the sub-continent duo's accession at the annual summit.

Modi hailed India's accession as a "landmark moment in the journey of the SCO" and pledged India would play a "constructive and active role" in the organisation.