If there was any doubt about the sincerity of his assertion, he followed it up with an actual meeting on Tuesday with Vajpayee who has been paralyzed for many years now.
The two leaders were the architects of the famous Lahore Declaration which followed Vajpayee's bus ride to Lahore in 1999. Sharif came to the Wagah border to receive him. Sharif and Vajpayee brought about the most dramatic, if temporary, turnaround in relations within a year of the hostility triggered by nuclear tests carried out by both sides.
The countries agreed in the historic declaration to keep their nuclear arsenal under check, a major step towards peace. But shortly after the Lahore Declaration, the Kargil war broke out, leading many to claim that Sharif had backstabbed Vajpayee. Sharif, though, later claimed that he had been kept in the dark about Kargil by Musharraf. Later that year, he was deposed in a coup by Musharraf.
TOI had reported on Tuesday that Sharif was going to visit Vajpayee. Pakistan high commission officials said that Sharif met Vajpayee for around 25-30 minutes at his Krishna Menon Marg residence. Sharif asked Vajpayee's doctors about the ailing leader's health and said he would pray for Vajpayee's well being. Vajpayee has been unable to speak since 2009 after he suffered a stroke.
Pakistan sources said that Sharif was keen to meet Vajpayee even before he left for Delhi. The meeting though couldn't be confirmed because of issues related to Vajpayee's health. The government decided late on Tuesday to confirm the meeting after consulting senior BJP leaders. No photographers were allowed to capture the moment. The high commission officials, too, didn't release any photograph.
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