'It Was My Country Once Upon A Time': PM Modi On His 'Visa-Free' Surprise Visit To Pakistan

Calling himself the biggest reason for Pakistan’s worries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had personally visited Lahore and checked the ‘power’ of the neighbouring country. The Prime Minister’s jibe came in reference to Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s “India should respect Pakistan because it has the nuclear bomb” remark.

During an interview with India TV, PM Modi recalled his visit to Lahore in 2015, saying, “Uss taakat ko mei khud Lahore jaakar check karke aaya hu (I had personally visited Pakistan to check how powerful it is).”

He said at the time of his visit to Lahore, a reporter in Pakistan wondered, “Haye Allah tauba, bina visa ke aa gaye (Oh my God, he has arrived in the country without a Visa), I told them it was my country at some point of time.”

The Prime Minister also responded to the allegation that India is behind ‘targeted assassinations by unknown killers’ of terrorists.

Modi said that he knows that the people of Pakistan are worried and he is the root cause of their worries. However, he added that he was unable to understand why some people in India were crying over the issue.

“I know, the people of Pakistan are nowadays worried. I also know that I am the root cause of their worries. But I also know that some people in our own country are also worried. Woh rote rahen samajh me aa sakta hai, yahan waale kyun rote hain, main samajh nahin sakta hoon (I can understand when they weep, but I cannot understand why our people weep),” he said.

Taking a veiled dig at Congress, Modi said, “A leader of a respected party, that ruled our country for 60 years and was in power during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, once alleged that it was not Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab and his men, but our people who killed our own countrymen. This is really sad. How can such a leader give a statement in favour of Pakistan and Ajmal Kasab? My head hangs in shame whenever I hear such a remark. I feel pained.”

Earlier on Thursday, while addressing an election rally in Punjab’s Patiala, Modi noted that more than 90,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered in the 1971 Indo-Pak War, and asserted if he had been in power he would have taken Kartapur Sahib from Pakistan before freeing their troops.

He also blamed the Congress for the country’s partition, saying they did it for the sake of power.

The partition left Kartar Sahib in Pakistan’s Punjab, just a few kilometres away from the border with India. “For 70 years, we could have a ‘darshan’ of the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara only with binoculars,” Modi said.

He said opportunity presented itself to take back the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara in 1971 when more than 90,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered before the Indian Army and “we had the trump card in our hands”.

“Had Modi been there at that time, I would have taken Kartapur Sahib from them (made it part of Indian territory) and then freed their troops,” he said.

Explore in-depth coverage of Lok Sabha Election 2024 Schedule, Voter Turnout, Upcoming Phase And Much More At News18 Website