Nazaw, Modi likely to meet in Washington

The Foreign Secretaries of both countries will be meeting in Islamabad on January 15 to announce a roadmap for the new, “comprehensive dialogue” that the two nations have begun.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took the world by surprize as he wore the pink turban gifted to him by Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at his granddaughter’s wedding. The world is still clueless as to how and why New Delhi chose to abandon its 13-year-old policy in favor of a complete overhaul of the relationship with its traditional rival. There are opponents of the peace process too who meddle with the process.

After seeing off Modi at the Lahore airport, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry said Nawaz and Modi met in a cordial atmosphere, and it was agreed upon in the meeting that people-to-people contact should be enhanced and other confidence-building measures should be taken to improve the relations between the two sides.

In a series of tweets, Saeed also said: “Personal friendship aside, Modi is a murderer and brutal killer of Muslims, and occupier of Kashmir”, adding that he should not have been welcomed.

However, a senior Pakistan official said that security had been planned several days in advance.

Soon after the Bangkok meeting, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj led the Indian delegation to the Heart of Asia Donor Conference on Afghanistan held in Islamabad from Dec 9-10, 2015.

He demanded action on terrorism, with Delhi viewing Pakistan as harbouring terrorists that target India, and progress in the trial of seven Pakistani suspects of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Apart from meeting casually, the two premiers are said to have also agreed “in principle” to keep the dialogue between National Security Advisers “rock solid” and “intact”. The call, at 11:30 am India time, triggered a flurry of activities on the Christmas day that ended with Modi’s impromptu trip to Pakistan hours later that many describe as a diplomatic masterstroke. The main parliamentary opposition, the Congress Party, says that the BJP leader is making a “joke” of diplomacy and lacks “seriousness and gravitas”. The Modi-Sharif bonhomie there was wasted, however, when fierce shootings across the line of control (LoC) in Kashmir killed several soldiers on both sides in July 2014. In September, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) came out in support of the Modi’s government engagement with Pakistan but with a spin – the spokesperson reminded all that Pakistan and Bangladesh could not be just treated as neighbours as they were once part of India.

As per a report in First Post, Pakistani PM’s brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was also present at Raiwind palace when Modi uttered these words.

“It is a positive step that he came… definitely… but we still have to move with caution”, he said.

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.