Pakistan today declared Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brief visit to meet his counterpart Nawaz Sharif here a “purely goodwill” one and said they agreed to understand each other’s concerns and continue holding peace talks for prosperity in the region.
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Earlier Friday, in a speech to the Afghan parliament, Modi urged closer cooperation between India, Pakistan and other neighbours over Afghanistan.
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As the experts on global affairs are engrossed in digging out meaning from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise visit to Pakistan, Twitterati on Friday shared their light-hearted reaction on the matter.
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Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors have been high in recent years but relations have begun to warm.
The BJP hit back at Congress over its suggestions that the visit to Pakistan was “pre-arranged”, and said it was “unfortunate” that the country has an opposition like it which sees negative in all “positive efforts”.
India and Pakistan both claim the Kashmir region in the Himalaya Mountains, and each country possesses nuclear weapons.
After Sharif and Modi hugged at the Allama Iqbal International Airport as he landed in an Indian Air Force plane, the two took a helicopter to Sharif’s residence at Raiwind, about 40 km from here, officials here said.
Security was beefed up at the Lahore International Airport shortly before Modi’s arrival. “Both leaders also underscored the need to understand the issues, concerns and desires of each other”.
According to Konstantin Makiyenko of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, which advises Russia’s Defense Ministry, some $7 billion worth of deals were expected to be agreed during Modi’s visit.
From a stop earlier Friday in the Afghan capital of Kabul, Modi tweeted that he is “looking forward to meeting” Sharif in Lahore, “where I will drop by on my way back to Delhi”.
Foreign Secretaries of the two countries are also likely to meet in Islamabad next month.
Analysts viewed the visit as a potential turning point in Pakistani-Indian relations.
“Modi’s surprise visit to Pakistan is a positive move, and people of Kashmir welcome any opportunity that brings India and Pakistan closer”.
The Mirwaiz further said, “Political will and vision is needed on all sides to address issues, specially Kashmir”.
“In the framework of the agreement between Rosneft and Essar group, large-scale supplies of oil and petroleum products – 10 million tons of oil annually in the next 10 years – are planned to be delivered to Indian refineries”, Putin said in a joint statement with Modi, reported the Moscow Times.
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Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said New Delhi’s engagement with Islamabad is a good step but called for consistency in the process instead of “grand gestures”.
