A thaw that didn't last: When Vajpayee took bus to Lahore

August 17, 2018 00:34

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 the dawn of a new era in Indo-Pak relations.

"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 prime ministers, 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 India and Pakistan 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 & Kashmir that led to a limited conflict that Pakistan lost.

"He (Vajpayee) 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," Gopalaswami Parthasarathy, who was India's High Commissioner to Pakistan when Vajpayee visited Lahore, told PTI.

Former foreign secretary Salman Haidar said Vajpayee's contribution to Indo-Pak 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".

Image: Then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee with the then Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at a meeting in New York, USA on Sept 23, 1998. Photograph: PTI Photo

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