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Friday March 29, 2024

Indian diplomats caught napping on Modi’s visit

By Mariana Baabar
December 27, 2015

ISLAMABAD: “Looking forward to meeting PM Nawaz Sharif in Lahore today afternoon, where I will drop by on my way back to Delhi”, tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi in what is being billed as the Tweet of the year, taking the world by surprise, as television grabs showed the two leaders walking hand in hand as if they were childhood friends in what is a very South Asian gesture.

“It was a race against time. We were taken completely by surprise and came to know fifteen minutes before Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted about his arrival to Lahore. We were informed by our colleagues in Kabul. I accompanied High Commissioner T.C.A. Raghavan, and we drove at great speed on the Motorway and luckily we made it to Jati Umrah as the helicopter carrying both prime ministers landed”, Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh tells The News.

Earlier on Friday afternoon when The News spoke to the High Commissioner and his Deputy while they were still on their way to Lahore they did not have much to offer on this ‘sudden’ visit and appeared pleased but very surprised.

“Actually the High Commissioner was on the phone all the time coordinating the arrival and visit of the Prime Minister. Details of who would accompany the Prime Minister in the helicopter etc were being worked upon”, says JP Singh who has also served in Afghanistan.

It is not often that a prime minister leaves his own Foreign Minister at home and does not take into confidence even his own diplomats at the Mission of the country he is about to visit.

But certainly there was no-one grumbling and it goes to the credit of all those involved that the visit went without a hitch and Modi was still smiling as he waved good bye.

For the normally cool headed High Commissioner Raghavan, who is retiring after leaving Pakistan at the end of December, a ‘normal’ visit by his prime minister would have been certainly a high point in his career. He was saved the months of planning that usually go into a prime ministerial visit. Luckily he made it in time to receive his Modi as he emerged from the helicopter at Jati Umrah where television footage showed the HC with his familiar smile.

The Indian side at least is very happy and satisfied with the visit even though unplanned with JP Singh calling it a ‘short but great visit’ and said “good will” has been created.

Spokesman at the Foreign Office echoed these views when he said, “Prime Minister of Pakistan welcomed the initiative of the Prime Minister of India to visit Lahore. The two Prime Ministers agreed to continue and enhance contacts and work together to establish good neighborly relations. Both leaders expressed their desire to carry forward the dialogue process for larger good of peoples of the two countries”.

While other world capitals were in a holiday mood and still trying to catch their breath with Modi’s style of diplomacy, the US welcomed Modi’s surprise visit to Pakistan, saying that improved ties between the two countries will benefit the entire region.

“We welcome the December 25 talks between PM Modi and PM Sharif in Lahore. As we have long said, better relations between neighbours India and Pakistan will benefit the people of the entire region,” a State Department spokesman told the media.

Sources say that there were rumours in Lahore and Islamabad on Thursday that there could be a possibility of Modi coming to Pakistan. But it appears that these efforts were related to streamlining a telephone call between the two Prime Ministers as Modi wished to speak to Sharif.

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Policy Sartaj Aziz had earlier commented that the Military Secretary had been in touch with him, but it appears that at the time it was related to arranging a phone call.

However, on Friday afternoon Nawaz Sharif got directly in touch with Sartaj Aziz and told him that he would send a plane to bring him directly to Lahore as he wanted him to be present during his meeting with Modi.

“But Sartaj Sahib said that his Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chowhdury was already in Lahore and would be the note taker on the occasion”, an official told The News. It is not known whether a similar offer was made to the National Security Advisor (NSA) General ® Naseer Khan  Januja, because Modi was accompanied by his NSA and Foreign Secretary but missing was his Minister for External Affairs who is completely overshadowed by her Foreign Secretary.

Monday will see senior officials taking up Modi’s visit at the Foreign Office as they will be updated by the Foreign Secretary who will be present.

Previously reports spoke about the presence of former Indian Deputy High Commissioner to Pakistan Gopal Baghlay in Lahore, ahead of the arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He some sources indicated had come directly from New Delhi. Baghlay is presently a joint secretary with the important desk supervising India’s relation with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.

However, Indian diplomats say that he had come to Lahore from Kabul as he was part of Modi’s entourage.

Pakistan’s High Commissioner Abdul Basit was also on leave and present in Pakistan but the Foreign Office said that his presence was in no way related to Modi’s visit.

While Pakistani officials say that date and venue of January’s Foreign Secretary’s meeting are still being worked out, media reports from Delhi speak about January 15 in Islamabad as a possibility.

If the dates were confirmed during the prime ministers meeting, the Foreign Secretary would bring the Foreign Office up to date.

At least this will be one birthday the prime minister is unlikely to forget in a hurry and so far he still has not shared the birthday present that was brought from New Delhi.