Meetings, talks must continue: Nawaz-Modi inside story

BJP veteran LK Advani today backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stopover in Lahore on Friday saying the process, of improving relations between Indian and Pakistan, started by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee should be taken forward.

Narendra Modi in Pakistan: Narendra Modi is the fourth Indian prime minister to visit Pakistan while 10 out of 14 Indian prime ministers have never been to Pakistan, a report said on Saturday. “Steady engagement is the best way to determine every outstanding issue”. Pakistani officials said Modi sought an invite – and Sharif gave him one and proved a gracious host. He announced his visit plan through Twitter where he wished Sharif on his birthday along with informing that he would drop by to Lahore to meet Sharif on his way back to Delhi. These included Pakistan’s reach-out to Kashmiri separatists that derailed talks a year ago and the issue of terrorism.

Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid, meanwhile, said that Pakistan wants to resolve the Kashmir issue peacefully. Nehru, India’s first prime minister, made two visits to Pakistan: in 1953 and 1960. The Joint Statement had also mentioned that the two Foreign Secretaries would meet to discuss the schedule and modalities of the dialogue.

Regardless of broad welcome, there were disengaged voices restricting Mr. Modi’s trek. No Pakistani was allowed to talk to Modi directly in this duration.

He stated the development in relations between the 2 nations was vital to regional peace, stability and improvement.

Further, in an unmistakable crossing of a traditional red line for Pakistan, which has opposed greater Indian military involvement in Afghanistan, Modi personally accompanied the delivery of new attack helicopters for the Afghan government. “I was preset in Lahore thereby I attended the meeting”, he said.

Prime Minister Modi landed at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport on Christmas day, where he was received by his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. The Paris interaction was the first between the two leaders after July, when they had met in the Russian city of Ufa and agreed that the National Security Advisers of the two countries should engage.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid an over-two-hour unscheduled visit to Pakistan that was seen very important as relationship warmed up in recent weeks.

He said Prime Minister Modi’s daring visit to Pakistan has left the opposition parties dumbfounded. It was not only a reflection of goodwill gesture by the Indian PM but also ha manifold dimensions and democratic perspectives, she maintained.