Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Lahore on Friday for a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in a surprise visit to this country--the first visit to Pakistan by an Indian premier in more than 10 years.
Modi was received by Sharif with a warm hug at the tarmac of Allama Iqbal International Airport after his unexpected stopover in Lahore on his way back home after a day-long trip to Afghanistan where he went after concluding a two-day visit to Russia on Thursday.
Modi was accorded a red carpet welcome as PM’s special IAF Boeing 737 plane made a smooth touchdown at 4.20 local time(4.50 IST). He then took a chopper to proceed to Sharif’s Raiwind palatial residence in the outskirts of Lahore.
“Spoke to PM Nawaz Sharif & wished him on his birthday,” Modi added in another tweet. Sharif turned 66 on Friday.
The visit came more than two weeks after Modi and Sharif had an unscheduled meeting at climate change talks in Paris.
The agenda of the meeting is not known but the two leaders were expected to discuss major issues which have rocked ties between the two countries.
The relations between India and Pakistan have witnessed some positive developments after chill for several months. The two countries recently decided to launch a comprehensive dialogue after Modi-Sharif meet in Paris.
The last visit to Pakistan by an Indian prime minister was in 2004 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose 91st birthday fell on Friday and who is credited with bringing about a thaw in relations with Islamabad.