India’s Modi arranged surprise Pakistan visit just hours before

“It was just a goodwill visit”, Pakistani Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry said. After reaching Lahore airport, Modi along with Sharif left for latter’s ancestral home Raiwind Palace here.

The State Department was responding to a question on PM Modi’s sudden visit to Pakistan’s Lahore, where he held talks with his Pakistani counterpart. It was the top story on the website of the New York Times, which said the visit came as the “estranged, nuclear- armed countries are again trying to revive a stalled dialogue”.

Congress spokesman Ajoy Kumar, questioning the visit on Friday, said: “It is unfortunate we get to know about the PM’s visit through a tweet”.

“Looking forward to meeting PM Nawaz Sharif in Lahore today, where I will drop by on my way back to Delhi”, Prime Minister Modi said in a tweet.

“The details of the meeting are being worked out”, he added. Sharif was accompanied by his brother Shahbaz, Punjab province’s chief minister.

Prime Minister Modi had earlier today extended his wishes to the Pakistani counterpart on his 65th birthday.

He stopped off in the Afghanistan capital Kabul earlier on Friday, where he inaugurated a new parliament complex built with Indian help.

The bear hug between Modi and Nawaz Sharif at the Lahore airport spoke a million words. Another “moderate” Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said, “Modi’s surprise visit to Pakistan is a positive move”.

Pakistan premier, Mian Nawaz Sharief, is 66 years old now.

PM Modi is in Kabul now.

Since independence from Britain in 1947, the now nuclear-armed neighbors have fought multiple wars, including over the Kashmir region, which is claimed by both nations. Taliban infected land has been “bone of contention” between nuclear armed India and Pakistan. Pakistani people, parliament and government give prominence to the speedy resolution of Kashmir for which thousands of Kashmiris and Pakistanis have died!