Indian PM Modi makes surprise visit to Pakistan

(THE NEWS INTERNATIONAL) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise stopover in Pakistan on Friday to meet his counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, the first time an Indian premier has visited in over a decade.

Sharif hugged Modi after he landed at the airport at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport.

Pakistan’s PM House spokesman said the two leaders discussed a range of bilateral issues.

Modi was on his way home after a visit to Russia. He stopped off in the Afghanistan capital Kabul earlier on Friday.

Modi and Sharif resumed high-level contacts with a brief conversation at climate change talks in Paris late last month, part of efforts to restart a peace dialogue.

Modi, who inaugurated a new parliament complex built with Indian help in Kabul, spoke to Sharif earlier on Friday to wish him on his 66th birthday.