India And Pakistan To Hold Composite Dialogue On January 15 In Islamabad

“The Secretary General has always been encouraging both leaders of the two countries to engage in dialogue”, a United Nations spokesman said, when asked to comment on the surprise visit by PM Modi.

“Modi ji visits various foreign countries Therefore, in his programme, he should also tell what he achieved there”, he added. He said India should now restore composite dialogue with Pakistan and resolve all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, through dialogue.

After Modi landed in Lahore, the two leaders flew to Sharif’s palatial residence Jati Umra Raiwind on the outskirts of the city in a chopper, making it the first time that any two leaders of the two countries were travelling together.

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. India had then tried to justify the decision by saying that it was the first occasion when a meeting with Hurriyat was held at the Pakistan mission just ahead of a trip by an Indian leader or official to Islamabad. Yet members of the opposition Congress party denounced the “unpredictable” act, calling it un-statesmanlike, with some complaining such an important meeting should not have been announced on Twitter.

Without going into the controversy whether it was a planned or surprise visit or who is the driving force behind this brief interaction, the meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi will definitely augur well for the foreign secretaries’ level talks scheduled in the middle of next month in Islamabad. Aziz Ahmed, a refugee from Indian-controlled Kashmir called the meeting a “mere photo session”. “Be it manufacturing, service sector or agriculture, this new initiative will bring in new ideas, new ways, and new innovations”, the prime minister said. “Many of his core supporters… had backed a de facto freeze on high-level talks as long as Islamabad continues to back Islamist terrorist groups that target India”, he said. Jaishankar had visited Islamabad in March this year after another surprise and dramatic announcement by Modi about sending his top diplomat on a “SAARC yatra”.