New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday offered prayers at the historic Jama Masjid and visited the Red Fort in Old Delhi area.
Sharif, who attended Narendra Modi`s swearing-in ceremony yesterday, was accorded a warm welcome at the mosque by its Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari.
Accompanied by adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry, Sharif spent around half-an-hour at the Jama Masjid, one of Asia`s largest mosques.
"Sharif wants that relations between the two countries should improve and the bitterness and differences are reduced. He said both India and Pakistan should move towards peace and happiness," Bukhari said.
The Imam said Sharif told him that he has come to India with a "message of peace" and that he wants the relations between the two countries to improve as soon as possible.
Sharif later visited the Red Fort which was the residence of the Mughal emperors of India for nearly 200 years until 1857.
Sharif later held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Modi. In the meeting, both the leaders decided to explore the way forward in bilateral ties through their Foreign Secretaries.
The Pakistani Prime Minister described the meeting as "good and constructive".
He had said yesterday that he intends to pick up the threads with India`s new leader Modi from where he and then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee left off in 1999.
Sharif`s visit is seen as significant by political observers here given that hardline elements in Pakistan have expressed their unhappiness over his responding to the invitation positively.
