I have a fond memory of a trip with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee when the media accompanied him to the inauguration of the Delhi-Lahore bus service (Sada-e-Sarhad), in February 1999.

An excited Indian media delegation reached Lahore a day in advance of Vajpayee’s historic bus journey from Delhi to Lahore. Major Dhyan Chand’s son Ashok Kumar, an Indian national hockey player, was also on-board the Indian Airlines flight.

The flight landed at Technical Area Lahore, from where media persons were taken to Lawrence Road, one of the poshest localities of the city. Renowned gazal singer Begum Akhtar met the delegation during a cultural programme held later in the evening. Akhtar was one of the many that had crossed over to Pakistan during Partition.

The next day, the delegation attended Prime Minister Vajpayee’s entry into Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah border. The then Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif welcomed Vajpayee and his delegation at the border amidst much fanfare and excitement.

The exchange of files to formalise the Lahore declaration between India and Pakistan was conducted twice, at the request of the photographers. Vajpayee understood the constraints of technology, and first exchanged the files for black-and-white photographs, and once again for coloured ones.

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