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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif during a surprise visit to the Pakistani city of Lahore on Friday, marking the first visit to Pakistan by an Indian premier in over a decade.
"This is an important step by the prime minister which will take relations between both the nations to a new level. This step would make our relations with Pakistan more informal," General-Secretary Ram Madhav of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party stated.
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After a months-long freeze, India and Pakistan resumed high-level contacts with a brief conversation at climate change talks at the COP21 climate change conference in Paris, France, late last month, as part of efforts to restart a peace dialogue plagued by violent attacks and long-standing distrust.
A high-level meeting between the two neighbors was canceled earlier this year because of disagreements, and persistent conflict in the shared border region of Kashmir.
After landing in Pakistan, Sharif greeted Modi at the airport tarmac where two leaders shook hands and shared a hug.
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The visit coincided with the Pakistani prime minister's birthday. Modi was on his way home after a visit to Russia. He stopped off in the Afghan capital Kabul earlier on Friday.
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Am personally touched by Nawaz Sharif Sahab 's gesture of welcoming me at Lahore airport and coming to the airport when I left.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi)
December 25, 2015
