The Lahore visit comes after India and Pakistan resumed high-level contacts with a brief conversation between Sharif and Modi at climate change talks in Paris late last month, part of efforts to restart a peace dialogue plagued by militant attacks and long-standing distrust.
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The Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan will meet on January 15 in Islamabad to draw a roadmap to carry forward the engagement under the newly- announced “Bilateral Comprehensive Dialogue”.
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Modi surprised many in the world when he announced that he will meet Sharif during his stopover in Pakistan. It was described as a spontaneous goodwill visit.
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“India came up a lot during the army chief’s visit to Washington, definitely with the Secretary of State [John Kerry] and also others”, a western diplomat said. Observers in India and Pakistan wonder whether this is just another one of Modi’s publicity stunts. This was the first time in a decade that an Indian Prime Minister had set foot on the Pakistani soil.
“The goal behind this meeting was to humanise the other side by arranging a visit involving close family members”, said the official, adding that some of Sharif’s Cabinet members had opposed the visit.
“It’s only an added benefit that he has a direct line to the (army) chief”, he added.
A source present in the meeting said the leaders of the nuclear-armed arch-rival nations “chatted like old friends” as they ate vegetarian food, with the Indian premier telling Sharif, “Your sincerity is beyond doubt”. Pakistan finally accepted that terrorism was a reality and had to be eliminated. The Government of India has been demanding a speedy trial of the accused by Pakistani judicial process. There was no mention of Kashmir in the statement.
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. But they are missing the significance of this meeting. And Modi made those two historical tweets through his personal @narendramodi Twitter handle and not the official @PMOIndia. “Modi’s government was earning bad name after his party backed extremists’ attacks on minorities and worsening relations with Pakistan”. Instead, this foray risks the support of the cultural right, that section among Modi Bhakts who thought that a Modi victory will result in avenging several historical wrongs – in the country and the subcontinent.
India is among the top five largest startup communities in the world and these companies have created more than 80,000 jobs so far, according to industry body National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom). The summit will be the first occasion in 2016 that will bring Indian and Pakistan PMs together.
To normalise relations, Pakistan can probably take a cue from Sino-Indian commercial ties that are flourishing despite serious border disputes.
On December 9, she told the media there that Modi would visit Islamabad next year to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit. Clearly, the Congress Party spokesperson last Friday neither appreciated the small but significant step taken to put the Indo-Pak ties on an even keel nor, for that matter, did he seem to be mindful of his own party’s record in seeking a continued dialogue with our western neighbour. But now officials from both sides are upbeat about the upcoming dialogue, though there is deep mistrust. Importantly, the two governments need to guard against spoilers. His connect was excellent when he was not the prime minister. One possible motive behind Modi’s Lahore stunt could be to try to win these crucial Muslim minority constituents.
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India’s nuclear diplomacy also saw a new high with civilian nuclear deals being clinched with Australia, Canada and France.
