ISLAMABAD — With a surprise visit to Pakistan, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday breathed new life into a long-troubled relationship.
Weeks before the reopening of high-level talks between the nuclear-armed rivals, Modi became the first Indian prime minister in more than a decade to set foot in Pakistan.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif embraced Modi upon his arrival in Lahore.
The warm welcome belied the tensions between the two countries that have worsened in the 19 months since Modi came to power. His conservative government signaled a more muscular Indian foreign policy, but it thus far had not shown a fresh approach to achieving peace with Pakistan.
As diplomatic theater, the meeting Friday could hardly have been more colorful. Modi announced the visit on Twitter en route from a visit to Afghanistan. His stopover coincided with Sharif’s birthday and a wedding celebration for his granddaughter, and the men flew by helicopter to Sharif’s family residence in Raiwind, which was decorated festooned for the wedding.
“Spent a warm evening with Sharif family at their family home,” Modi tweeted afterward. “Nawaz Sahab’s birthday &granddaughter’s marriage made it a double celebration.”
Pakistani Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhury described Modi’s stopover as “a goodwill visit” that helped prepare for a meeting in January between the countries’ top diplomats.
“The two sides decided to understand each other’s reservations and restart the comprehensive dialogue in a positive manner,” Chaudhury said.
The countries, which were split in 1947 upon independence from Britain, have fought four wars and countless minor skirmishes, while maintaining one of the most heavily militarized borders in the world. In recent months, each side has accused the other’s military of firing across the border without provocation.
The conflict has had broader implications as the rivals jockey for influence elsewhere in South Asia, particularly in Afghanistan.
Friday’s meeting, however, was the latest in a recent series of signs of potentially flawing relations.
The fact that Modi stopped in Pakistan after an official visit to Kabul, where he helped open a new, Indian-constructed Parliament building, was seen as significant because Pakistan has often chafed at Indian engagement in Afghanistan.
Modi and Sharif also had a brief encounter last month on the sidelines of the United Nations climate-change conference in Paris, after which the countries’ national security advisers met in Bangkok, Thailand, for discussions on terrorism, the disputed Kashmir territory and other issues, officials said.
In October, Pakistani officials brought a deaf-and-mute woman back home to India 15 years after she had unwittingly strayed across the border into Pakistan as a girl.
Analysts said Modi appears willing to endure criticism from hard-liners in his Bharatiya Janata Party who oppose outreach to Pakistan, which they accuse of harboring Islamist militant groups that have frequently attacked India.
Indian officials have repeatedly accused Islamabad of stalling the long delayed trial of suspects accused in the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India’s financial hub.
“Modi’s surprise visit to Pakistan underscores his reputation as a bold leader willing to break the mold in foreign policy even at the risk of alienating some of his core supporters at home,” said Sadanand Dhume, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.
At next month’s meeting, the countries’ foreign secretaries are expected to restart a so-called “comprehensive dialogue” that includes mundane commercial and cultural exchanges as well as boundary issues and terrorism. The talks were twice put off over Indian objections to Pakistani officials meeting with separatists from the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir.
Expectations for the talks have been growing in Pakistan since Sharif appointed a recently retired army general, Nasir Janjua, as his national security adviser and gave him a key role in the dialogue process. The move was seen as a sign that Pakistan’s powerful military supported the diplomatic push.
“No dialogue project with India can succeed without support of military establishment,” said Baqar Sajjad, a senior journalist in Islamabad who has covered Pakistani foreign affairs for more than a decade.
The visit also appeared to be an effort by the media-savvy Modi to get positive headlines after a punishing few months at home, including his party’s defeat in an important state election and allegations that some BJP Hindu leaders were fueling religious strife with provocative comments against minority Muslims.
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