In what would be Pakistan’s first message to the new Indian government, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday sent ‘felicitations’ to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a day after the oath-taking ceremony.
Felicitations to @narendramodi on taking oath as the Prime Minister of India.— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) June 10, 2024
“Felicitations to Narendra Modi on taking oath as the Prime Minister of India,” Shehbaz Sharif said in a post on social media site X.
Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif was not among the invitees to the swearing-in ceremony held in New Delhi. Top leaders from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region, including Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, on Sunday graced the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union council of ministers.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, his Bhutanese counterpart Tshering Tobgay and Vice-President of Seychelles Ahmed Afif also attended the glittering ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the leaders of the seven countries were invited to the ceremony in keeping with the highest priority accorded by India to its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and ‘SAGAR’ vision.
Ties between India and Pakistan remain frosty due to the latter’s use of terror as a tool to create instability in the Kashmir region. Pakistani establishment’s support of terrorists and its boost to the drug trade in the border region are some of the key reasons why relations between New Delhi and Islamabad have deteriorated.
Modi took the oath for the third straight term, days after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance secured 293 seats out of 543 in the Lok Sabha polls.
Senior BJP leaders Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar and Piyush Goyal were among those taking the oath as Union Cabinet ministers at the ceremony.
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