‘Where’s my invite to Pak?’

However, he added: ‘‘I will feel happy to go to Pakistan after the elections if there is an official invitation.’’ The last time he went was way back in ‘78 when Islamabad had invited him to his native place, Karachi, to watch an India-Pakistan cricket match. He recalled, ‘‘I was the I&B minister then and I met Sia (then Pak President Zia-ul-Haq).”

Getting nostalgic, he said he expressed a wish to visit his school and see his home. ‘‘Since it was a Sunday, I told them (his hosts) it would be closed. They said, we have a holiday on Friday. They took pains to find my teachers also. I went to see my house — a Gujarati family lived there.’’

Referring to the thaw in Indo-Pakistan relations, Advani said: ‘‘The joint statement and the dialogue with the Hurriyat has helped Hindu-Muslim relations.’’

Earlier, while speaking at the rally, he said there is a ‘‘feel-good’’ sentiment in the country due to improved relations with Pakistan. ‘‘This has become possible because the Pakistan President has given a commitment that he would not allow his country for use for terrorism. It would have been better if he said so at Agra (during summit). Anyway, better late than never.’’