One apparently innocuous tweet by Narendra Modi amidst the melee of tweets documenting his whirlwind tour of Russia and Afghanistan. It was enough to break the stupor of the media and Twitterati on a lazy Christmas afternoon. 

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The Prime Minister of India has suddenly broken a long chasm in India and Pakistan relationships by deciding on a stopover to Lahore to meet Nawaz Sharif on his birthday while going from Kabul to India. Indo- Pak relationships which had chartered a rocky terrain post Modi had taken over is finally looks well on track for a concentrated way ahead. 

Here are the reasons Modi's Pakistan trip is so significant. 

Carry forwarding Vajpayee's legacy: 

Vajpayee was the original peacenik who made a generous bid for reconciliation through his historic bus ride. Yes, Kargil followed and it lead to lot of bad blood. Today's hurricane tour may be just a spur for leaving all those behind and starting afresh to script a new beginning.

Modi has not fallen into the traps of the war-mongers among his party and voting constituency who believe in an ultra-patriotic muscular foreign policy. He has tried to go the extra mile to make a constructive breakthrough in the Indo- Pak relations. 

Breaking the zero-sum game impasse: 

India- Pakistan relationship has mostly been treated as a zero-sum game, where both sides have looked at it from narrow confines of earning brownie points. Here PM Modi by making an unannounced tour has actually broken the cycle. He has actively reached out to Pakistan breaking free of the trappings of protocol and other diplomatic melange. Modi, an unconventional PM has shown his chutzpah in foreign policy to atleast try to break the logjam. It is bound to accrue him much positive feedback in Pakistan, which will help Sharif to get much needed domestic support to convince the army to maintain a peaceful relationship with India. 

Keeping expectations at minimum: 

This is the second time in recent time that India- Pakistan has made diplomatic forays without attracting media's eyes. First was that of NSA level meet in Bangkok, and here too Modi announced his Pakistan sojourn at the 11th hour, though the chances of the trip being an impromptu decision looks remote. By giving media less time to speculate, Modi managed to keep the expectations at minimum and less time for the hawks to decide on behalf of the nation what is the right thing to do. Stealth diplomacy seems to be the new mantra to break new grounds and if Barkha Dutt's revelation is to believed this secret parleys go back to SAARC summit in Katmandu. It looks like Modi and Sharif are trying to create their own legacy. The major hitch came when the pre-decided NSA level meet was called off post UFA when both the two countries were involved in an eyeball confrontation over the agenda of the meet. So, it looks like low key interaction is the way forward. 

Prelude to a stronger 2016: 

The Modi government is now nearly 18 months old now and the time is right for embarking on taking some tough and bold decisions. 2016 works for BJP politically  as well because except in Assam it is no major player in any of the poll-bound states. Hence PM has the time and the political leverage to open a new front with Pakistan, and he has done specifically that. 

To set the agenda of governance: 

PM by taking a bold stance in foreign policy has truly showed us a glimpse of the unconventional brilliance many were enamoured with when they voted en masse for BJP in April 2014. Manmohan Singh longed to go to Pakistan but didn't have the necessary political capital to transform his wish into action. PM Modi has no such barriers and hence he can break glass walls by just being a little adventurous politically.

Can PM Modi follow a similar route in other key areas and stay two steps ahead of his contemporaries, the media and the opposition.  It can truly help him to set the agenda of development and firm up a legacy, which not only his cheerleaders but many dispassionate observers would sorely like him to achieve.