‘Unplanned’ stopover at Lahore on way back from Kabul signals start of new journey in vexed bilateral ties

Simran Sodhi & PTI,New Delhi/Lahore, Dec 25

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today arrived in Lahore for a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, the first visit to Pakistan by an Indian premier in more than 10 years. Government officials in Delhi maintain that the visit was ‘unplanned’ and that it all started with Modi’s phone call to Sharif this morning. The latter invited him to stop by and the PM decided to do so. However, there were whispers in the South Block that a prime ministerial visit could not have been unplanned. Editorial: Modi in LahorePakistan, after the Modi-Sharif meeting, said the visit marked the start of  a comprehensive dialogue between the two countries. The Pakistan foreign secretary called the visit a goodwill gesture. “That’s like a statesman,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted about Modi’s Pakistan visit. Swaraj’s successful visit to Islamabad recently provided the momentum for the Prime Minister’s surprise visit today, sources said. Modi was received by Sharif with a warm hug on the tarmac of the Allama Iqbal International Airport.He was returning home after a day-long trip to Afghanistan on the conclusion of a two-day visit to Russia. Modi had travelled to Russia in an Air India jumbo flight and an Indian Air Force aircraft followed later. After the Russia leg, most officials were sent back on the AI flight while the PM travelled to Kabul on the IAF plane.Modi was accorded a red carpet welcome on his arrival at Lahore, 20 minutes past four in the evening. He then took a chopper to Sharif’s palatial residence in Raiwind on the outskirts of Lahore.“Looking forward to meeting PM Nawaz Sharif in Lahore today afternoon, where I will drop by on my way back to Delhi,” tweeted Modi, as he wound up his visit to Afghanistan.  It was the PM’s tweet that broke the news about his stopover in Lahore. “Spoke to PM Nawaz Sharif & wished him on his birthday,” Modi said in another tweet. Sharif turned 66 today. He shares his birthday with Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Mohammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan. The visit came more than two weeks after Modi and Sharif had an unscheduled meeting at climate change talks in Paris.Ties between India and Pakistan have witnessed some positive developments after a chill that lasted  several months. The two countries decided to start a comprehensive dialogue after the Modi-Sharif meeting in Paris.The last time that an Indian Prime Minister visited Pakistan was in 2004. Atal Bihari Vajpayee had then broken the ice between the two countries. Modi visited Pakistan today, that happened to be Vajpayee’s 91st birthday. The Pakistani authorities put security on high alert in Lahore, especially around the airport, after the announcement of Modi’s brief visit to the eastern city.A PML-N source said that Sharif had invited Modi for the marriage of his granddaughter Mehrun Nisa at his Raiwind residence. “Welcome to Pakistan @narendramodi. Constant engagement is the only way to resolve all outstanding issues,” PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari tweeted.Since the now famous Paris handshake on November 30 when both PMs had a brief chat, India-Pakistan relations have moved forward rapidly. The two National Security Advisers met in Bangkok on December 6 and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj travelled to Islamabad for a multilateral conference on December 8-9. There it was decided that the ‘comprehensive composite dialogue’ would be resumed and that the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries would meet soon. They are expected to do so on January 15.Modi returned to New Delhi late in the evening. “Breakfast in Kabul, tea in Lahore & dinner in Delhi! PM @narendramodi returns after a unique day in Indian diplomacy,” MEA spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted. Meanwhile Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said: “PM Modi’s visit was not a planned one. It was organised on a short notice after Mr Modi expressed his wish to come here en route to Delhi from Afghanistan.”