Pro-MASS News Bureau: Dec 26, 2015:
PM Narendra Modi and Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif met at the ancestral home of Pakistani PM in Lahore yesterday where both the leaders had one-on-one talk on Indo-Pak relations. Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif warmly welcomed PM Modi at Lahore airport on his arrival. Foreign Secretary level talks between India and Pakistan will be held next year on January 15 in Pakistan; this Decision was taken after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Lahore on Dec 25.
This is PM Modi’s first visit to Pakistan since he assumed office. Hours before he was to leave Kabul, a tweet by PM Modi took the media in India and Pakistan and observers of Indo-Pak relationship.by surprise. In a few hours, PM’s special Indian Air Force Boeing 737 landed in Lahore. He was received by his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif with a warm hug at Lahore airport.
The two leaders then took a chopper to proceed to Sharif’s Raiwind palatial residence in the outskirts of Lahore. Sources say that Nawaz Sharif had invited PM Modi to attend the marriage of his granddaughter Mehrun Nisa which is taking place on Friday at Sharif’s Raiwind palatial residence.
The 2 leaders met at Sharif’s residence and discussed Indo-Pak relations. The last visit to Pakistan by an Indian prime minister was in 2004 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Several political parties in India welcomed PM’s Pakistan visit. Sections of Pakistan polity and society also welcomed PM’s Lahore stopover. Home Minister Rajnath Singh termed PM Modi’s visit to pakistan a positive step.
Observers of Indo-Pak ties and media in India and Pakistan were taken by surprise by this goodwill gesture of PM Modi which was not preceded by any official announcement by either side. PM’s visit has added a fresh dose of momentum in Indo-Pak bilateral relationship and deepens the thaw that we are seeing presently in ties. PM’s next visit to Pakistan would be next year to attend the SAARC summit in the neighbouring country.
