The New York Times, which quite often has been critical of the Prime Minister, while underscoring the significance of Modi’s impromptu trip to Lahore said the Indian leader in the past has moved from one policy to the other and described it as “a diplomatic dance”.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met the family members of his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif and touched the feet of his mother Shamim Akhtar at latter’s residence Raiwind Palace, the ancestral home of “The Sharifs”.
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Both India and Afghanistan agreed to increase and expand training opportunities for Afghan National Security and Defence Forces in relevant Indian institutions, based on the requirements of Afghanistan. “If this happens, we welcome this visit”, Sena spokesman Sanjay Raut said in Mumbai.
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Indians and Pakistanis shared their thoughts about the milestone visit on Twitter using the hashtag #BirthdayDiplomacy . India has also alleged that Pakistani militants were behind terror raids on its soil this year, which Islamabad denied.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, leader of the opposition Peoples Party of Pakistan, welcomed the Prime Minister’s surprise stoppage at Lahore.
“It is not a crime for PMs to talk to PMs of other countries. The Prime Ministers discuss #IndiaPakistan relations in Raiwind”. “But has anything changed in all these years?” he questioned.
Upon his official visits to Russian Federation and Afghanistan, Indian Prime Minister Modi landed at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport on December 25 on a “surprise” visit, where he was received by Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif and his bother Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
“Whatever may be the reasons behind the Prime Minister’s surprise visit to Lahore, we hope that his tour of Pakistan leads to effective action by the neighboring country against terrorists operating from their soil”, VHP global working president Pravin Togadia said in a statement issued here. The visit was also significant because Mr. Modi had flown into Pakistan directly from Kabul, where he had inaugurated the new Parliament building.
“Among the decisions taken was that ties between the two countries would be strengthened and also people-to-people contact would be strengthened so that the atmosphere can be created in which the peace process can move forward”, Chaudhry said. Both the Prime Ministers are expected to hold meeting now. “This “breath taking” step would make our relations with Pakistan more informal”, he said. “However more than grand gestures we need consistency”, he said.
But few in India and Pakistan knew about the programme, coming at a time when bilateral relations between New Delhi and Islamabad showed definite improvement after months of tensions and border clashes.
Modi phoned Sharif earlier in the day to wish him on his birthday and asked if he could make a stop in Pakistan on his way home, Pakistan’s top diplomat, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry, told reporters.
Mistrust between India and Pakistan runs deep.
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Bilawal said the only solution to Pakistan-India issues was constant communication between the two countries, the Pakistani media reported. Also present were Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and the Indian envoy, T C A Raghavan.
