LAHORE: On his way home from Kabul, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flew into Lahore for a surprise meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif and both leaders vowed to pursue the derailed bilateral peace process, officials said.
State TV footage showed an Indian Air Force jumbo jet land in the late afternoon at Lahores Allama Iqbal International Airport where Sharif who celebrated his birthday the same day had flown in by helicopter moments earlier.
Sharif, flanked by the cabinet ministers, received Modi on the tarmac where military officers lined up along a red carpet.
Both leaders wore their national dresses and made their way to Sharifs helicopter, which flew them to the prime ministers residence in Raiwind.
Modi, who is the first Indian PM to touchdown on the Pakistani soil for the first time since Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s historic visit in 2004 spent nearly 90 minutes with Sharif at the latter’s palatial house in Raiwind, about 40 km from Lahore.
A Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz source said that Sharif had invited Modi to attend the marriage of his grand daughter Mehrun Nisa in Raiwind.
A Pakistani official said Modi also blessed the granddaughter of Sharif on her wedding. He however said, “Modi had no clue about the wedding.”
It was a telephone call from Modi from Kabul greeting Sharif on his birthday which triggered the dramatic journey.
Modi had earlier made the surprise announcement on Twitter as he wound up his visit to Afghanistan with an address to the Afghan parliament.
Looking forward to meeting PM Nawaz Sharif in Lahore today afternoon, where I will drop by on my way back to Delhi, he said.
Sharif had attended Modi’s oath taking in New Delhi in May 2014.
The Indian leader, who sipped Kashmiri tea while meeting Sharif, also met the Pakistani leader’s mother.
Indian external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted: “Infusing a positive spirit in the neighbourhood. Modi departs from Lahore after a few hours in Lahore.”
Modi reportedly told Sharif that it was important for the leadership of the two countries to understand each other’s position. The Pakistani media said the two leaders had decided to take forward their bilateral relations for the benefit of South Asia.
Modi and Sharif agreed to promote people-to-people contacts and confidence building measures.
Sharif and his brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif were among the VIPs who received Modi at the Allama Iqbal International Airport as Modi landed in an Indian Air Force plane. The two leaders then took a helicopter to Raiwind.
Earlier the Pakistan Air Force presented a guard of honour for Modi.
Geo TV reported that the visit “was not that surprising” as the Lahore Air Traffic Control had been told about it on Thursday.
But few in India and Pakistan knew about the programme, which came at a time when bilateral relations have shown definite improvement after months of tensions and border clashes.
“The move, if not preposterous, is utterly ridiculous. You can’t do such things in such a cavalier manner. This is going to blow up in the PMs face,” Congress leader and former Union Minister Manish Tewari said.
However the visit was warmly received in Pakistan and Kashmir, the bone of contention between the two countries.
Modi and Sharif had fleetingly met at the Paris Climate Summit on November 30, preparing the atmosphere for a resumption of the stalled bilateral dialogue.
Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, who accompanied Modi to Lahore, met his Pakistani counterpart in Bangkok earlier this month. This was followed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Islamabad.
The two foreign secretaries are set to meet in January, also in the Pakistani capital.
A GOODWILL VISIT
Pakistan Foreign secretary Aizaz Chaudhry while briefing media about Indian PM’s visit said that Mr Modi telephoned PM Sharif and expressed his desire to visit Pakistan on his way back from Kabul.
“It was a goodwill visit and the two sides decided to understand each other’s reservations and restart the comprehensive dialogue in a positive manner,” said Chaudhry.
The foreign secretary revealed that during the brief meeting, the two PMs decided that as a part of the comprehensive dialogue, the foreign secretaries of the two countries will meet in mid-January.
Answering a question, Chauhdry said that the PM’s adviser on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz and National security adviser Nasir Janjua too would have attended the meeting between the two PMs if the Indian PM had informed about his visit earlier.
He added that the two sides decided to collectively work towards the common goal of fighting poverty and increase people to people contact in order to open new avenues for peace and mutual cooperation between the two neighbouring countries.
Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, responding to Modi’s announcement, said on Twitter: “That’s like a statesman. Such should be the relationship between neighbours.”
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