Modi’s words contained a political and strategic message for Pakistan about the futility of carrying on a “covert, proxy or open” war with India.

“Jung bahut karli. Jung karke kya paya, na zameen mili na jannat paya ((What has war yielded, neither land nor heaven).”

These words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, uttered in the presence of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, at the cosy Raiwind palace, had instant appreciative echo in the Sharif household. Not only were the words rich with meanings but also they were delivered with delicate flair. “Well said,” the Sharif brothers concurred and repeated it many times to emphasise the implicit message.

There is hardly any doubt that Modi’s words, which rhymed like an Urdu couplet, contained a definite political and strategic message for the neighbouring country. Decoded, it impressed upon the highest level in Pakistan about the futility of carrying on a “covert, proxy or open” war with India. And his “jannat and land” remark was intended to convey India’s position on radical elements in Pakistan.

Obviously, India’s position on Jammu and Kashmir is inflexible in terms of ceding territories. Those accompanying Modi point out that he was unambiguous about it. At the same time, his “jannat” remark was aimed at Islamic radicals who lure youth to the fold of terrorism by promising them “jannat with virgin hoors (nubile maidens)”. Pakistan being one of the major recruitment centres for the jihadists and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the “jannat” remark emphasised the ludicrousness of the jihadists’ proposition. That Modi delivered this message close to where radical Islamist outfits like Lashker-e-Taiba flourish makes it strategically significant.

Insiders in the government say that Modi’s message has a context. In his recent meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Modi raised a pertinent query about youth getting attracted to the jihadist ideology which led them to the path of death and destruction. “They are misguided by the promise of jannat and hoors after death,” he said, explaining the problems of countering this pernicious dogmatic religious belief fanned through Islamic seminaries. In Pakistan, Modi referred to this aspect of terrorism only to disabuse the misguided youth of the “heavenly life after death” notion.

In fact, Modi’s dramatic decision to drop in at Lahore to wish Sharif on his birthday and attend his granddaughter’s wedding was not entirely impulsive. Given his background as RSS pracharak, Modi was acutely conscious of the fact that Indian leaders, particularly from the BJP background, invite great political risks with their pro-active moves on Pakistan. Though Atal Bihari Vajpayee is now appreciated all around for his Lahore bus journey, at the time he was at the receiving end of the Opposition's fire during the Kargil conflict. Similarly, LK Advani raised the hackles of the RSS-VHP combine by calling Jinnah ‘secular’ in 2005. In fact, this proved to be his political downfall.

In comparison to these initiatives, Modi’s move to visit Pakistan was a riskier one as it had an element of unique unilateralism and surprises that are normally detested within his own ideological family in relation to Pakistan. He broke conventions and protocols to smithereens when he hopped on a Pakistani Air Force chopper to Raiwind palace along with his Pakistani counterpart. He was not accompanied by any of his security staff in complete contravention to the stipulated security protocol for the head of government.

Sources close to the PM said that Modi was determined to take a “calculated risk” while keeping his feet firmly on the ground. This was the precise reason why he could effortlessly deliver his words to his hosts in Pakistan in the solitary surrounding of the Sharif household.