Lahore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday sprang a surprise with a 150-minute visit to Lahore where he greeted his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on his birthday and had talks during which they decided to open ways for peace for the “larger good” of the people of the two countries.
Injecting an element of drama into the see-saw Indo-Pak ties, Modi took the world by surprise by announcing in a tweet from Kabul that he will “drop by” in Lahore to greet Sharif on his 66th birthday Friday. “Looking forward to meeting PM Nawaz Sharif in Lahore Friday afternoon, where I will drop by on my way back to Delhi,” he tweeted.
After Modi made a surprise stopover here on his way home after a day-long unannounced visit to Afghanistan where he went after concluding a two-day trip to Russia Thursday, the two leaders flew to Sharif’s palatial residence of Jati Umra Raiwind, which is 20 km from the airport, in a chopper, making it the first time that any two leaders of the two countries were travelling together.
India’s external affairs ministry spokesman said the visit and the talks were aimed at infusing a “positive spirit” in the neighborhood. Indian sources said the idea of a visit emanated from a conversation between the two Prime Ministers Friday morning when Modi called Sharif from Kabul to greet him.
Pakistan described Modi’s stopover here as a “goodwill visit”. “The two leaders decided to take forward the dialogue process…It was agreed that foreign secretaries will meet in Islamabad next month,” said Pakistan’s foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chowdhury. The two premiers agreed to “open ways for peace and better atmosphere”, while understanding each other’s concerns, he said.
“Both leaders expressed their desire to carry forward the dialogue process for larger good of the people of the two countries,” said the spokesperson of Pakistan’s foreign office. PTI
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