Pakistan confirms surprise visit by Indian PM

After pleasantries and a guard of honour by the Pakistani Air Force for Modi, the two prime ministers boarded a helicopter and reached Sharif’s ancestral residence at Raiwind.

Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry said Sharif responded, “Please come, you are our guest, please come and have tea with me”, Reuters reported.

Official sources in Pakistan said the meeting was held in a very cordial atmosphere and was marked by enormous goodwill. “Clearly, there is an effort to ensure that there is some engagement between the countries, which is positive”, says Ashok Malik, a fellow at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think tank. He also wished Sharif on his birthday.

Dismissing External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s claim that Modi’s move was statesman like, Sharma said, “This unannounced visit can not be termed statesman like, Modi’s diplomacy lacks seriousness and gravitas”.

Pakistan rejects the accusation but it has struggled to turn around perceptions in Afghanistan, where social media users sent out a stream of glowing commentary on Modi’s visit, contrasting the parliament building with the destruction wrought by Taliban suicide bombers.

“That’s like a statesman”. He told him that he was in Lahore and asked Modi to come to Lahore. “The two leaders were later shown sitting together in a room looking happy and relaxed”.

Sayeed hoped that the meeting between the two leaders will provide the much-needed momentum to the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue for peaceful resolution of all issues between the two countries.

Sharif hugged Modi after he landed at the airport in the eastern city of Lahore and the two left by helicopter for Sharif’s nearby family estate.

Foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India are scheduled to meet in January to agree on schedules to resume long-stalled bilateral composite talks aimed at resolving all outstanding issues.

“They were guided by the vision of the two leaders for a peaceful stable and prosperous South Asia. The only issue is about their return and rehabilitation to Kashmir”, he said.

“The entire world is waiting and rooting for a change”. “Modi had no clue about the wedding”, he said.

Mistrust between India and Pakistan runs deep.

“The PM has taken a courageous step”.

Amid reports that Modi’s visit was planned only today, Foreign Office spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said, “Yes, we have been informed by the Indian High Commission that PM Narendra Modi would stop over in Lahore to meet our PM today”. The talks in Ufa were the first since Sharif attended Modi’s inauguration a year ago.

Mr. Modi is expected to visit Pakistan for the SAARC Summit likely to be hosted by it in September 2016. Today is, incidentally, also Mr. Vajpayee’s 91st birthday.

Pakistan and India have fought two of their three wars over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, an 86,000-square-mile region to the north.

Analysts said the prospect of the Friday meeting was probably kept hidden till the last minute to prevent the irrational expectations and acrimony that often accompany any such diplomatic move.