Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to Lahore, for a surprise meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on Friday. Modi announced his trip on Twitter earlier on Friday after inaugurating the new Afghanistan Parliament building in Kabul in the morning. Flights to Lahore airport were diverted to make arrangements for his landing, India Today reported. Sharif welcomed welcomed him at the airport and then took Modi to his house, where his granddaughter's wedding was being held. The two discussed Indo-Pak relations for about an hour before Modi left for Delhi.
Modi and Sharif last met on November 30 on the sidelines of the United Nations climate change conference in Paris, where they decided to resume National Security Agency-level talks between the two countries. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who visited Pakistan earlier this month, said that India was restarting talks with its neighbour on the basis of trust. She added that it marks the beginning of peace between the two countries.
This is an Indian prime minister's first visit to Pakistan since Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Pakistani authorities told PTI that security has been heightened in and around Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport in anticipation of Modi's arrival.
Modi's stopovers in both Afghanistan and Pakistan were unannounced until hours before his arrival in either country. They followed his two-day official trip to Russia, where India signed 16 deals to expand cooperation in various sectors, including nuclear and defence.
Modi's surprise visit drew varied reactions:
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