In the spotlight: Ripples generated in foreign media

Leading newspapers across the world welcome the rare unexpected meeting

ISLAMABAD: Any interaction between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi has always been a source of interest in international media, mainly due to frosty relations between the two countries in the past.

But Modi’s brief stopover in Lahore because of his desire to meet Premier Nawaz has generated enormous interest in the world media, with leading print news organisations welcoming the normalisation of ties between the two neighbours.





Britain’s influential Guardian newspaper said the visit raised hopes that stop-and-start negotiations between Pakistan and India might finally make progress. "The Lahore visit comes after India and Pakistan resumed high-level contact with a brief conversation between [Nawaz] Sharif and Modi at the climate change talks in Paris late last month as part of efforts to restart a peace dialogue," it said.

The UAE-based Khaleej Times said both prime ministers showed their eagerness to cement a new era in their checkered relationship.

The New York Times said Modi's course towards Pakistan has shifted to engagement from confrontation. It appreciated Prime Minister Nawaz saying he has been an advocate of better ties with India.



The Wall Street Journal said the event was likely to add momentum to the reconciliation process between the neighbours. "Better relations between neighbours India and Pakistan will benefit the people of the entire region," it quoted US State Department spokesman John Kirby as saying.

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