A Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) source said that Sharif had invited Modi to attend the marriage of his grand daughter Mehrun Nisa in Raiwind.
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“Anticipating meeting PM Nawaz Sharif in Lahore today afternoon, where I will visit on my way back to Delhi”, tweeted Modi, who was on his first to Pakistan, as he ended up his visit to Afghanistan.
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Welcoming Modi’s visit which has taken the country by “pleasant surprise”, BJP said he has taken a bold step which only a strong leader can do.
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A close aide to Modi said the visit was a spontaneous decision by the prime minister and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, and that it should not be seen as a sudden shift in India’s position.
She said the Indian Prime Minister should also play his role in reducing visa restrictions between the two countries along with stopping human rights violations in the Indian Held Kashmir.
Initial optimism about a revival of ties was short lived as the two countries traded heavy fire across their disputed border in the Himalayan territory of Kashmir which claimed dozens of lives on both sides.
“It is astonishing that the Prime Minister of the largest democracy of the world leaving for Pakistan, even as everybody knows that we have a problem with Pakistan”, Singh told ANI.
“Pakistan will become a bridge between South Asia and Afghanistan and beyond”, Modi hoped.
After returning to Delhi, Modi said he was “personally touched” by Sharif’s gesture of welcoming him at the airport and seeing him off. He also called “very touching” Sharif’s affection towards BJP veteran and former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Mr. Modi had met Mr. Sharif on the sidelines of the 21st Conference of Parties (CoP-21) on environment and climate change in Paris on November 30, pointing to the possibility of a thaw in the strained relations between the two neighbours. Majority of Sindhis, Pashtuns, Baluch and Muhajirs prefer better ties with India. But his desires have been viewed with suspicion and disapproval by the powerful Pakistani military establishment, which remains focused on the resolution of the longtime dispute over Kashmir. The visits to France and Germany yielded a big push for many of Modi’s marquee projects like Make in India.
Mistrust between India and Pakistan runs deep and in Afghanistan many believe that Islamabad sponsors the Taliban insurgency to weaken the Kabul government and limit the influence of India. The surprise visit seems to have created a conducive atmosphere and given a momentum to bilateral ties, they said.
It was the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Pakistan in a decade. Lahore is Mr. Sharif’s hometown. The third and last leg of his three-nation tour took him to Pakistan’s Lahore. The two leaders then took a helicopter to Raiwind.
Mr Modi was on his way back from a visit to Russian Federation.
“We welcome the December 25 talks between PM Modi and PM Sharif in Lahore”, the news agency quoted an unnamed State Department spokesman as saying. Modi spent nearly an hour at the Pakistani premier’s residence, which had been brightly lit by festive lights and decorated with wedding accouterments. Pakistan’s foreign secretary, Mr. Aizaz Chaudhry rushed to Lahore from the capital to be present on the occasion.
He said, “I have already written in my book that the two countries’ leadership should come to the table sooner or later and it is a good move by the Indian Prime Minister”.
He added that Modi had not been aware of the wedding ceremony of Sharif’s granddaughter. “We want to ask PM what has changed in the last few months that he went straight to Lahore from Kabul”, Tewari said.
Modi said that regional support would be vital to bring peace and control terrorism.
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While most of the political groups, including separatists, have hailed Modi’s Lahore visit, Congress attacked Modi for his “unscheduled” visit to Pakistan and alleged it was not for promoting India’s national interest but to promote private business interests.
