When Modi called up foreign minister Jaishankar at midnight and asked 'Are you awake'?

Indian external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who is currently in New York, recently recalled one of his conversations with prime minister Narendra Modi over an attack near the Indian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan in January 2016.

Applauding Modi's capacity of crisis management, Jaishankar recalled India's evacuation effort in Afghanistan and said the prime minister called him up in the midnight and asked, "Jaage ho?" (are you awake?)

Jaishankar, who was India's foreign secretary then, said at the event to discuss 'Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery', "It was past midnight and our consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan was under attack. We were trying to figure out what happened and my phone rang. It took me a bit by surprise. When the Prime Minister calls you don't get a caller ID but still someone connects you. But this time it was the prime minister."

"The prime minister asked if I'm awake," the diplomat said.

"It's 12:30 (am), what else will I be doing rather than being awake? Because in his life that's probably natural," he said.

"Are you watching TV, he asked. Yes sir, I said. On being apprised that help was on its way, PM Modi asked to be informed personally when the operation is over. I said this will take two-three hours more and I will inform your office (PMO) when it's over."

Modi then told him to call him, Jaishankar added.

The minister praised Modi's sense of responsibility at such time and pointed out how India took important decisions under his leadership during the challenges posed by the Covid-19 crisis.

"If you look at how leaders around the world handled Covid - not everybody stepped up or said I'd take that call. To handle the consequences of very big decisions is an extremely singular quality," Jaishankar said, praising Modi.

He also said that "frankly", he liked Modi even before he met him.

"I frankly liked Mr Modi before I met Mr Modi. On some levels, as many would complain, I am a micromanager. I can be quite a pain. But the level of preparation he had done was commendable," Jaishankar said recalling his first meeting with the prime minister and emphasising that the latter begins his day at 7.30 am and does not drop. .

He also spoke about India's evacuation efforts in Afghanistan last year when the Taliban returned to power.

During the discussion on the book, Jaishankar said, “You ask whether prime minister Modi can bring change, but I say PM Modi himself is the result of a change and someone like him has become the Prime Minister of India. Shows how much the country has changed.”