Take Modi's Pakistan visit beyond VIP diplomacy: Yechury

Kolkata, Dec 26  Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Pakistan has to be taken forward and moved beyond "VIP diplomacy", CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury said on Saturday.

"Modi's sudden visit to Pakistan is welcome and such talks should be sustained. But now it is a kind of VIP diplomacy, but should not be confined in the VIP level in the coming days," Yechury said.

On Friday, Modi took everyone by surprise by flying to Lahore to meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif while on his way home from Kabul.

"It happened at such a point of time when the Pakistan cricket team is not being allowed to play in India, an artiste like Ghulam Ali is not being allowed to perform in the country. This VIP level diplomacy should not end here and it should be carried forward to people to people contact," Yechury noted.

Stressing that the onus was on both sides to sustain dialogue, he observed that initially India's stance was to discuss only terrorism and now "it has been agreed to talk on everything including the Jammu and Kashmir issue".

"So this suddenly dropping by Pakistan is good. But the talks should sustain," Yechury told the media ahead of the party plenum scheduled to begin on Sunday.