Path-breaking diplomacy, his bus ride to Lahore

New Delhi, August 16

It was a short-lived thaw in stormy relations between India and Pakistan when Atal Bihari Vajpayee took a bus to Lahore in 1999 and hugged his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, leaving an endearing image that symbolised hope in bilateral ties.

Vajpayee, who died on Thursday at the age of 93 after a prolonged illness, had made a significant diplomatic breakthrough and travelled on a bus from Amritsar to Lahore with a delegation that included the likes of Bollywood legend Dev Anand, writer Javed Akhtar and cricket icon Kapil Dev.

The move was hailed as dawn of a new era in Indo-Pak ties.

“I bring the goodwill and hope of my fellow Indians who seek abiding peace and harmony with Pakistan... I am conscious that this is a defining moment in South Asian history and I hope we will be able to rise to the challenge,” Vajpayee had said upon arrival at Lahore to a rousing welcome.

After talks between the two PMs, the Lahore Declaration was signed, under which, among other things, it was agreed upon that the two sides were fully committed to undertaking measures to reduce risks of accidental or unauthorised use of nuclear weapons.

However, the bonhomie between the two countries did not last long as just months after the visit, the Pakistan army undertook a covert operation to send its troops into Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir that led to a limited conflict that Pakistan lost.

“He gave a speech in Lahore, (it) was very touching because he said that as far as he was concerned, he will not allow a conflict to happen. And that speech carried a huge impact, it was played on Pakistan television,” said Gopalaswami Parthasarathy, who was India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan when Vajpayee visited Lahore.

Former Foreign Secretary Salman Haider said Vajpayee’s contribution to India-Pakistan ties was something that speaks for itself as “he took a great deal of initiative in bringing the two countries into closer proximity with each other”. — PTI