Archive · 14 Aug 2026
Nawaz Sharif asked Vajpayee to bring Dev Anand to Pakistan
In 1999, the leaders of India and Pakistan, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif, wanted to show that their countries could be friends.
Vajpayee traveled from Delhi to Lahore on a bus.
Sharif made one special request — he asked Vajpayee to bring along Dev Anand, a famous Indian movie star.
Dev Anand had studied in Lahore as a young man and had left before Partition.
When the bus arrived, Anand hugged Sharif and held both leaders' hands, saying he had come to bring the two countries together.
Anand was very happy to see his old city again and said he wanted to make a film there.
Sharif loved Anand's movies so much that he watched one song again and again.
Sadly, the friendship did not last long — a war broke out between the two countries a few months later.
Dev Anand died in London in 2011, and his planned return to Pakistan never happened.
Pakistan's PM Nawaz Sharif asked India's PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee to bring Bollywood actor Dev Anand on the historic February 1999 Lahore bus visit.
Dev Anand, told of the trip only a day in advance, returned to Lahore for the first time since leaving the city before Partition.
At Wagah, Anand hugged Sharif, held both leaders' hands and said he had come to bring the two countries together.
Sharif, a devoted fan, replayed the CID song 'Leke Pehla Pehla Pyaar' in slow motion so often he wore out the CD, and met Anand several times in London.
Months later the Kargil War dashed the visit's optimism; the two men's planned Pakistan reunion never happened — Dev Anand died in London in 2011, aged 88.
- Who
- Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, India's Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Bollywood actor Dev Anand.
- What
- Sharif asked Vajpayee to bring Dev Anand on the 1999 Lahore bus peace visit; Anand joined the delegation, reunited with Lahore and spoke of bringing the two countries together.
- When
- February 1999, months before the Kargil War.
- Where
- On the Delhi–Lahore bus, at the Wagah border, and in Lahore.
- Why
- Sharif was a devoted fan of Anand and wanted the actor, who had studied in Lahore, to be part of the thaw in India–Pakistan ties.
- Event
- Vajpayee's historic bus peace visit from Delhi to Lahore, February 1999
- Sharif's request
- "If possible, bring Dev Anand along with you"
- Anand's connection to Lahore
- Studied at Government College, Lahore; left for Bombay before Partition
- Anand at Wagah
- "I have come to bring the two countries together just like this"
- Sharif's fandom
- Wore out a CD of CID replaying 'Leke Pehla Pehla Pyaar' in slow motion
- Aftermath
- Kargil War broke out months after the visit
- Dev Anand's death
- London, 2011, aged 88
- Story's source
- Netflix series Operation Safed Sagar