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| Indian prime minister makes surprise stopover in Pakistan | Indian prime minister makes surprise stopover in Pakistan |
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| The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, has arrived in Pakistan in a surprise stopover to meet his counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, in what is the first visit by an Indian premier to the country in more than a decade. | The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, has arrived in Pakistan in a surprise stopover to meet his counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, in what is the first visit by an Indian premier to the country in more than a decade. |
| Modi and Sharif resumed high-level contacts with a brief conversation at climate change talks in Paris last month, part of efforts to restart a peace dialogue plagued by militant attacks and distrust. | Modi and Sharif resumed high-level contacts with a brief conversation at climate change talks in Paris last month, part of efforts to restart a peace dialogue plagued by militant attacks and distrust. |
| Modi, who inaugurated a new parliament complex built with Indian help in the Afghan capital, Kabul, spoke to Sharif on Friday to wish him a happy 66th birthday. | Modi, who inaugurated a new parliament complex built with Indian help in the Afghan capital, Kabul, spoke to Sharif on Friday to wish him a happy 66th birthday. |
| Looking forward to meeting PM Nawaz Sharif in Lahore today afternoon, where I will drop by on my way back to Delhi. | Looking forward to meeting PM Nawaz Sharif in Lahore today afternoon, where I will drop by on my way back to Delhi. |
| Mistrust between India and Pakistan runs deep, and in Afghanistan many believe that Islamabad sponsors the Taliban insurgency to weaken the Kabul government and limit the influence of India. | Mistrust between India and Pakistan runs deep, and in Afghanistan many believe that Islamabad sponsors the Taliban insurgency to weaken the Kabul government and limit the influence of India. |
| Pakistan rejects the accusation but it has struggled to turn around perceptions in Afghanistan, where social media users sent out a stream of glowing commentary on Modi’s visit, contrasting the parliament building with the destruction wrought by Taliban suicide bombers. | Pakistan rejects the accusation but it has struggled to turn around perceptions in Afghanistan, where social media users sent out a stream of glowing commentary on Modi’s visit, contrasting the parliament building with the destruction wrought by Taliban suicide bombers. |
| Nalin Kohli, a spokesman for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party, said India was ready to take two steps forward if Pakistan took one to improve ties between the countries, which have fought three wars since 1947, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which both claim in full but rule in part. | Nalin Kohli, a spokesman for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party, said India was ready to take two steps forward if Pakistan took one to improve ties between the countries, which have fought three wars since 1947, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which both claim in full but rule in part. |
| A ceasefire along the “line of control” that serves as the border between Indian- and Pakistani-held Kashmir has largely held since 2003, but cross-border firing and minor skirmishes are fairly common, with each side routinely blaming the other. | |
| Related: The Guardian view on Mr Modi’s UK visit: over the top | Editorial | |
| Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a key separatist leader in the Indian portion of Kashmir, said: “It’s a welcome step. We hope that it is followed by a consistent policy of engagement to resolve the Kashmir dispute. India and Pakistan have to evolve a mechanism to involve the core party to the issue that is the Kashmiri people.” | |
| The opposition Congress party called Modi’s visit irresponsible and said nothing had changed to warrant warming of ties between the nuclear-armed rivals that only in August cancelled scheduled high-level talks after ceasefire violations across the border. “If the decision is not preposterous then it is utterly ridiculous,” Congress leader Manish Tewari said. | |
| However, analysts viewed the visit as a potential turning point in Pakistani-Indian relations. “I think it is going to play a significant role in improving ties between the two South Asian arch-rivals,” said Amanullah Memon, a professor of international relations at Preston University in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. | |
| Amitabh Matto, an Indian foreign policy expert, described Modi’s birthday diplomacy visit as a “very positive step”. He said: “Any step toward trying to stabilise and provide a new beginning to India-Pakistan ties is welcome and needs to be supported by all those who believe that India and Pakistan have a common destiny and it is in their interest to fight together their common problems, including terrorism and economic under-development.” | |
| The Indian foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, went to Pakistan this month – the first such visit in three years – after Modi and Sharif’s meeting in Paris. | The Indian foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, went to Pakistan this month – the first such visit in three years – after Modi and Sharif’s meeting in Paris. |
| Opening the parliament building in Kabul, Modi pledged India’s support for the Afghan government and urged regional powers including Pakistan to work together to foster peace. | Opening the parliament building in Kabul, Modi pledged India’s support for the Afghan government and urged regional powers including Pakistan to work together to foster peace. |
| The building is the latest symbol of a longstanding diplomatic effort by New Delhi to cultivate links to Afghanistan. | The building is the latest symbol of a longstanding diplomatic effort by New Delhi to cultivate links to Afghanistan. |
| Related: Narendra Modi must lift the ban on my film about rape in India | Leslee Udwin | |
| As well as the parliament building, India is also supplying three Russian-made Mi-35 helicopters to Afghanistan’s small air force, adding badly needed capacity to provide close air support to its hard-pressed security forces. | As well as the parliament building, India is also supplying three Russian-made Mi-35 helicopters to Afghanistan’s small air force, adding badly needed capacity to provide close air support to its hard-pressed security forces. |
| Without referring directly to Pakistan, India’s traditional rival in the region, Modi said that some had seen “sinister designs in our presence” in Afghanistan. | Without referring directly to Pakistan, India’s traditional rival in the region, Modi said that some had seen “sinister designs in our presence” in Afghanistan. |
| “India is here to contribute, not to compete; to lay the foundation of future, not light the flame of conflict,” he told lawmakers in Kabul, adding that Afghanistan could never “serve the designs of others”. | “India is here to contribute, not to compete; to lay the foundation of future, not light the flame of conflict,” he told lawmakers in Kabul, adding that Afghanistan could never “serve the designs of others”. |
| Modi said that regional support would be vital to bring peace and control terrorism. | Modi said that regional support would be vital to bring peace and control terrorism. |
| “We know that Afghanistan’s success will require the cooperation and support of each of its neighbours,” he said. “And all of us in the region – India, Pakistan, Iran and others– must unite in trust and cooperation behind the common purpose and in recognition of our common destiny.” | “We know that Afghanistan’s success will require the cooperation and support of each of its neighbours,” he said. “And all of us in the region – India, Pakistan, Iran and others– must unite in trust and cooperation behind the common purpose and in recognition of our common destiny.” |