China today welcomed the meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakstani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, saying it will help promote peace in South Asia.
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On Friday, Modi took everyone by surprise by flying to Lahore to meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif while on his way home from Kabul. But, this visit should not be a surprise to those who understand Narendra Modi’s courage of conviction and his ardent desire to bring all round development in India, which can not happen without building a peaceful relationship with neighboring countries, particularly Pakistan.
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Mr Sharif and Mr Modi held a meeting in a “cordial and positive atmosphere” and they agreed to continue working for the welfare of people of their countries, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry told reporters.
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Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar will meet Pakistani Foreign Affairs chief Sartaj Aziz in Islamabad on January 15, PTI reported.
“Modi has made clear he is willing to risk political capital to make peace”, the Indian Express newspaper said, warning that any future terrorist attacks traced to Pakistan would invite “savage criticism”.
Earlier in the day, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said India had informed Pakistan about the visit on Friday.
“Blaming Pakistan as the cause of all problems faced by the Afghan people, he tried to exploit their sentiments to his favour”, he added.
He surprised many by inviting Sharif to his swearing-in as prime minister past year, but three months later abruptly halted that tentative engagement by canceling high-level talks over Pakistani diplomats’ meeting with separatist leaders from Kashmir.
However, he said it is for the AICC to make a comment on Modi’s visit to Pakistan. “Modi had no clue about the wedding”, he said. Hours later “Goodwill Hunting Modi” had made it to Pakistan for the first time in his life, which also marked the first visit across the border by an Indian PM in more than a decade.
“Even the personal equation between the two Prime Ministers is symptomatic of the diplomatic thaw, which is taken place”, said MJ Akbar BJP, the national spokesperson of the BJP and a Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand.
In 1999, prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee went to Pakistan and inaugurated the Lahore-New Delhi bus service. They also had a brief meeting in Paris at the start of this month.
Sharif and his brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif were among the VIPs who received Modi at the Allama Iqbal International Airport as Modi landed in an Indian Air Force plane.
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Indian officials also have repeatedly accused Islamabad of stalling the trial of suspects in the 2008, India’s financial hub.
