From the other side: Lahore yatra roundly welcomed in India

But opposition Congress party calls it ‘utterly ridiculous’, if not ‘preposterous’

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to drop in Lahore for talks with his Pakistani counterpart – something his predecessor Manmohan Singh failed to achieve in 10 years of power – was roundly welcomed in India, where it was seen as a calculated personal gamble.

“Modi has made clear he is willing to risk political capital to make peace,” The Indian Express newspaper said, warning that any future terrorist attacks traced to Pakistan would invite ‘savage criticism’.



Television polls suggested most Indians welcomed the development while newspapers praised Modi's decision to avoid weighty expectations by staging an informal ‘stopover’ on the way back from Kabul.



"Traditional build-up to an Indian PM's visit to Pakistan would have seen different interest groups bringing all kinds of pressure to bear," the Times of India said.

Yet members of the opposition Congress party denounced the ‘unpredictable’ act, calling it un-statesmanlike, with some complaining such an important meeting should not have been announced on Twitter. "If the decision is not preposterous then it is utterly ridiculous," Manish Tewari said.



Others questioned whether the newfound friendship would translate into concrete progress on peace.

“Modi loves to spring surprises – he's disruptive, he's setting aside old taboos,” Neelam Deo, a director at Gateway House think-tank in Mumbai told AFP. “His personalised diplomacy to an extent we haven't seen in India since Jawaharlal Nehru in the 1950s," she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 27^th, 2015.