Modi’s favourite dish ‘saag’ at Sharif’s home

The unexpected visit by Narenda Modi to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s home in Lahore comes just one month after Modi and Sharif exchanged greetings at worldwide climate talks in Paris, and bodes well for future relations between the two countries, which have fought three wars in the past 65 years.

Though Mr Modi’s visit received largely positive feedback in India and Pakistan, some Indian opposition parties criticised the Premier.

“It was decided that dialogue will be increased”, Chaudhry told reporters in Lahore.

He was responding to a question about Modi’s surprise visit to Lahore while on way form Kabul yesterday during which the two prime ministers met at Sharif’s residence.

He said as the dialogue proceeds, all issues would be discussed. “Yes, absolutely. I am here”, Modi replied, the official said. “For example, during the past several years the United States has competed with Russian Federation to become India’s largest arms supplier, primarily through sales of military aircraft and helicopters, the newspaper adds”.

While China has a stated policy of neutrality on the Kashmir issue, Beijing’s recent moves have suggested otherwise, from issuing stapled visas to Indian residents of J&K and going ahead with an economic corridor project with Pakistan, through Pakistan- occupied Kashmir.

Noting that Modi “showed a knack for wielding what can be a potent diplomatic weapon-the element of surprise”, Time magazine called his Friday visit to Pakistan as “The biggest surprise of all”.

Kasuri said it was need of the hour that leadership of both the countries should exhibit maturity to resolve their problems through negotiations.

Modi and Sharif are expected to meet in Davos on the margins of the World Economic Forum, to be held from January 20 to 23, senior officials from both countries have confirmed to The Telegraph.

The last Indian prime minister to visit Pakistan was Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who travelled to Islamabad in January 2004 for a regional summit, where he met then-President Pervez Musharraf.

“We welcome the thaw in Pak-India relations but to have a business associate arrange the two prime minister meeting has an underlying conflict of interest”.

Shujaat wished Nawaz Sharif had also got a Quaid-e-Azam birth anniversary cake cut by Modi prior to his own birthday.