Indian PM ‘stops over’ in Pakistan
Print Edition
INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise stopover in Pakistan yesterday to meet his counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, the first time an Indian premier has visited the rival nation in more than a decade.
Sharif hugged Modi after he landed at the airport in the eastern city of Lahore before the two boarded a helicopter for Sharif’s nearby estate, state television showed.
A spokesman at the Pakistani prime minister’s office said the two would discuss a range of issues, including the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, the most contentious issue dividing the rivals.
Modi was on his way home after a visit to Russia. He stopped off in the Afghanistan capital Kabul earlier yesterday.
After months of a freeze, India and Pakistan resumed high-level contacts with a brief conversation between Sharif and Modi at climate change talks in Paris late last month, part of efforts to restart a peace dialogue plagued by militant attacks and long-standing distrust.
Modi, who inaugurated a new parliament complex built with Indian help in Kabul, spoke to Sharif earlier yesterday to wish him best wishes on his 66th birthday.
“Looking forward to meeting PM Nawaz Sharif in Lahore today afternoon, where I will drop by on my way back to Delhi,” Modi tweeted.
The two prime ministers flew to Sharif’s estate in Lahore named Jati Umra, Pakistan state TV reported.
An aide to Modi said the visit was a spontaneous decision by the prime minister and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, and that it should not be seen as a shift in India’s position.
“But yes, it’s a clear signal that active engagement can be done at a quick pace,” the aide said, declining to be identified.
Mistrust between India and Pakistan runs deep. Modi’s visit is the first by an Indian prime minister to Pakistan since the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed in the Indian city by militants trained in Pakistan.
Modi, a Hindu nationalist, came to power last year, and has authorized a more robust approach to Pakistan, giving security forces the licence to retaliate forcefully along their disputed border and demanding an end to insurgent attacks in Indian territory.
In Afghanistan, many believe that Islamabad sponsors the Taliban insurgency to weaken the Kabul government and limit the influence of India.
Pakistan rejects the accusation but has struggled to change perceptions in Afghanistan, where social media users sent out a stream of glowing commentary on Modi’s visit.
Nalin Kohli, a spokesman for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, said in New Delhi that India was ready to take two steps forward if Pakistan took one to improve ties.
The countries have fought three wars since 1947, two of them over Kashmir.
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