PM Narendra Modi to attend Nawaz Sharif’s birthday at Lahore,Pakisthan

PM Narendra Modi tweeted that he would make a stop-over in Lahore. He is expected to spend a couple of hours in Pakistan with Nawaz Sharif. In an announcement made on Twitter that surprised many,PM Narendra Modi said he would make a stop-over in Lahore in Pakistan on his way back from Kabul.He added that he would meet Pakistan Premier Nawaz Sharif, who is incidentally celebrating his birthday on December 25.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj commended the move, calling it ‘statesman-like.’This will be the first visit by PM Modi to Pakistan after he was voted to power last year.Sharif had made his visit to India last year when he attended PM Modi’s swearing-in ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi. Both leaders have conducted several meetings on the sidelines of summits and conferences in foreign countries.

The relations between India and Pakistan have witnessed some positive developments after a chill lasting several months. The two countries recently decided to launch a comprehensive dialogue after PM Modi and Sharif met on the sidelines of the Paris climate change conference.

Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj had earlier met Sharif in Islamabad at the Heart of Asia conference.PM Modi had landed earlier today in Kabul where he held talks with President Ashraf Ghani and inaugurated the new Parliament building. He had also made a visit to Moscow where he held comprehensive discussions with President Vladimir Putin and inked several deals.

Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Pakistan since 2004. Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours have been high in recent years but relations have begun to warm.The pair met briefly in Paris last month on the sidelines of the COP21 climate change conference.