Defence experts hail PM Modi's 'pleasant move' to visit Pak

Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Pakistan as "a pleasant move", defence expert Alok Bansal on Saturday said the visit could be a new chapter of India-Pakistan relationship.

"It was a very pleasant move by Prime Minister Modi in a very surprising and a bold gambit by visiting Lahore on his way from Kabul. This could open a new chapter as far as India-Pakistan relation is concerned. However, it is at this juncture premature whether it would yield any results. Last visit to Lahore by prime minister Vajpayee resulted in Kargil. So at this juncture, it is difficult to say whether this visit will usher in a new dawn of Indo-Pak relation or bring in another Kargil," Bansal told ANI.

Bansal further said that the visit has a new significance if it can open up the ways for getting raw materials from Central Asia, Afghanistan via Pakistan for India and opening up the markets of Central Asia and Afghanistan for Indian goods.

Echoing similar sentiments, another defence expert Qamar Agha said, "As far as the visit is concerned, it was very successful. They had a long talk of almost 90 minutes. We also know the attitude of the Pakistani establishment and particularly the militant organisation. There is no change in Pakistan's geo strategy or political situation. The visit was to put pressure on these forces."

Agha added that another purpose of the visit was to explain to the international community that India believes in peace and wants to settle all outstanding issues with Pakistan through negotiations.

Prime Minister Modi had yesterday made a surprise visit to Pakistan.

He landed at Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport, where he was received by his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

On his way back to New Delhi from Moscow, Prime ministers Modi and Sharif met at the latter's residence Raiwind Palace, the ancestral home of the Sharifs, in Lahore, where he also discussed Indo-Pak relations with him.

"Beyond the noise, a personal connect. The Prime Ministers discuss #IndiaPakistan relations in Raiwind," tweeted Vikas Swarup, Official Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs.