At granddaughter’s wedding, Nawaz Sharif dons pink turban gifted by PM

Pakistan is picking up bodies of soldiers and civilians on Line of Control while Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is presenting gifts to his Indian counterpart, said PML-Q Punjab president Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi while analyzing the benefits of Nawaz-Modi surprise meeting.

Army Chief Gen. Raheel Sharif is said to be close to the new National Security Adviser, recently retired General Naseer Khan Janjua, who replaced Sartaj Aziz, an ally of the Prime Minister, in October.

Mr. Kharge said that even after two days of Mr. Modi’s visit to Pakistan and his meeting with Mr. Nawaz Sharif, the people have been kept in the dark about what transpired between Mr. Modi and Mr. Sharif.

In a video that has now gone viral, a journalist identified as Qaiser Khokhar from the Pakistani news channel City 42 is outraged that Modi’s entourage had landed in Pakistan without visa.

“It indicates the prime minister’s resolve to enter into a long-term strategic partnership with Pakistan”, he said, in a statement.

The opposition Congress Party called Modi’s visit irresponsible and said that nothing had happened to warrant warming of ties between the rivals. Modi’s visit was a diplomatic masterstroke and both leaders can take credit for this.

He said Nawaz Sharif should also have got the Quaid-i-Azam’s birthday cake cut by Narendra Modi prior to that of his own birthday. “During this, the rights of the citizens were elaborately highlighted”, the PM said, adding the duties of the citizens also need to be talked about.

Quoting analysts, Al Jazeera reported that relations between the two countries were at a low and Modi’s visit was seen as a baby step towards improvements in ties.

Sartaj Aziz said the prime ministers of two countries have met five times and the warmth of relations created by the Lahore meeting would hopefully have an impact on the formal dialogue.

Opening the parliament building in Kabul, Modi pledged India’s support for the Afghan government and urged regional powers, including Pakistan, to work together to foster peace.

In 2016, the summit will be the first occasion for Indian and Pakistani PMs to come together.

Sources said Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar is likely to have review meetings with nearly all the secretaries and departments concerned to understand the “possible new areas” of cooperation, before he heads to Islamabad.

The “mother of all coups” – Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar described Modi’s December 25 visit to Lahore – also had an important fall-out.