‘Can Win Polls In Pakistan Too’: What Nawaz Sharif Told Vajpayee After His 1999 Lahore Speech

Last Updated:December 25, 2025, 20:32 IST

Ashok Tandon said that Vajpayee’s Lahore address was notable because it was directed not just at political leaders but at the people of Pakistan.

The former Prime Minister had travelled to Lahore in February 1999 aboard a bus from Amritsar. (File image)

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif once told former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he could “win elections in Pakistan too" after the latter’s speech in Lahore during his landmark visit in 1999, Vajpayee’s former media adviser Ashok Kumar Tandon has recalled.

Tandon a former special correspondent of the Press Trust of India (PTI) and later Vajpayee’s media adviser, said that the remark was made after Vajpayee addressed a gathering at the Governor’s House in Lahore, a speech that resonated strongly with the Pakistani public.

“After the speech, Nawaz Sharif turned to Vajpayee and said, ‘Vajpayee ji, now you can win elections in Pakistan too,’" Tandon told NDTV.

He further said that Vajpayee’s Lahore address was notable because it was directed not just at political leaders but at the people of Pakistan. Speaking from the lawns of the Governor’s House, Vajpayee had said, “We are neighbours; we can change friends, but we cannot change neighbours."

The former Prime Minister had travelled to Lahore in February 1999 aboard a bus from Amritsar, inaugurating the first direct bus service between India and Pakistan. The visit was seen as a major diplomatic initiative aimed at easing decades of hostility between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

The delegation accompanying Vajpayee included late actor Dev Anand, lyricist Javed Akhtar and former Indian cricket captain Kapil Dev. On his arrival, the Indian leader struck a conciliatory note, saying he carried “the goodwill and hope" of Indians who sought lasting peace with Pakistan.

It was a full scale diplomatic push from India’s side, something that both sides had not seen. It was Vajpayee’s grand plan of not just maintaining peace with Pakistan but also resolving the Kashmir issue.

The visit led to formal talks between the two Prime Ministers and culminated in the signing of the Lahore Declaration, under which both sides committed to dialogue, expanded trade ties and measures to reduce the risk of accidental or unauthorised use of nuclear weapons.

Despite being remembered as the dawn of a new phase in India-Pakistan relations, the optimism did not last long. The peace process suffered a major setback with the outbreak of the Kargil conflict later that year.

Today, India is celebrating the 101st birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajapyee. Vajpayee, who joined the Rastriya Swamsevak Sangha (RSS) in 1947, rose through the ranks to become a stalwart of the BJP.

He was the first non-Congress Prime Minister to complete a full term in power by leading a tenuous coalition with his inclusive politics and superlative oratory.

He first became prime minister in 1996, leading a shaky coalition whose members were suspicious of the BJP’s right-wing politics. It lasted for 13 days and collapsed after losing a vote of no-confidence.

His second stint as prime minister was in 1998 when the National Democratic Alliance again came to power but that lasted for just 13 months. Finally, the NDA with Vajpayee as PM returned to power in 1999 and was voted out in 2004.

He breathed his last on August 16, 2018, at the age of 93, after battling a kidney infection and chest congestion.

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