Indian Prime Minister’s surprise visit to Pakistan

MADHU AGRAWAL
Guinness Record Holder for letters in Newspapers

Indian Prime Minister Narender Modi has surprised all through his diplomatic master-stroke when he made a surprise and unplanned visit to Lahore (Pakistan) on his way-back to India on 25.12.2015 from his tour to Russia and Afghanistan. At a time when countries like US always seem to be pressurising India and Pakistan for stepping further-and-further for ‘normalcy’, it was indeed a big jump by Indian Prime Minister rather than taking small-small steps as desired by global hyper-power.

There was a time when India had a welcome tradition of political unanimity at least on foreign affairs. Congress Prime Minister PV Narsimharao once even entrusted the then Opposition Leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee to head an Indian delegation at important UN Human Rights Commission Conference at Geneva in the year 1993. But unfortunately the very same Congress is now doubting Narender Modi’s surprise visit to Lahore having been arranged by an Indian industrialist close to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaj Shariff.

However surprise Lahore-visit by Indian Prime Minister Narender Modi should be the very final Indian step towards normalcy with Pakistan, and no further action towards ‘normalcy’ with Pakistan should be there on part of India till Pakistan now hands over Hafiz Saeed and Dawood Ibrahim to India.