Indian PM makes surprise stopover in Lahore

Prime Minister Narendra Modi pulled off a Christmas Day surprise, becoming the first premier from India to visit Pakistan in over a decade.

Pakistan Peoples Party, while talking with Geo, a TV news network.

He said in a meeting between Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in Lahore on Friday it was decided that foreign secretaries of the two countries would meet in mid-January to decide details of dialogue on all issues.

Modi said in Kabul that Afghanistan will benefit when terrorism is contained and doesn’t dictate the choices its citizens make.

Online adds: Modi has praised the work and achievements of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

Sartaj Aziz on Saturday had said it would not be fair to expect much from the talks scheduled in Islamabad in January between the foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India. Many past attempts at talks have been derailed either due to terror attacks in India or cross-border firing along the Line of Control, the de facto border. “He’s personalised diplomacy to an extent we haven’t seen in India since (India’s first prime minister) Jawaharlal Nehru in the 1950s”, she said.

A senior Indian official in New Delhi also said military backing for peace talks marked a major change, with Janjua’s involvement as national security advisor a key sign that General Sharif supports resuming the dialogue.

Following this announcement, Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj appreciated the Indian premier’s decision to stop by in Pakistan on his way to India, saying “That’s like a statesman”.

“Still it has created an atmosphere of goodwill”, he added.

Branding the visit a “duel standard” by the government, the leaders alleged that Modi had taken “U-turn” regarding Pakistan.

Vinod Sharma, Political Editor of Hindustan Times termed the surprise visit of Modi to Pakistan a “pleasant incident” and now the process of dialogue between the two countries should take place.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Thursday condemned the destruction of parts of the ancient Syrian city of Bosra in fighting two days ago, alerting the world art market to potential trafficking in artefacts from the World Heritage site.

As Pakistan still maintains that it considers Hurriyat as true representatives of Kashmiris.