NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed gratitude to his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif for congratulating him on securing a third term in office.
Since the Lok Sabha election results were announced on June 4, leaders of around 100 nations have congratulated Modi on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the BJP, winning.
“Thank you @cmshehbaz for your good wishes,” Modi said in reply to Sharif’s message on X.
In a post on the social media platform, Sharif said, “Felicitations to @narendramodi on taking oath as the Prime Minister of India.”
Seven leaders from countries in India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region attended the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Modi and the Union council of ministers on Sunday.
The leaders from these countries and several others had called up and send congratulatory messages to Modi following the NDA’s electoral victory.
However, there was no such message from Pakistan before Sharif’s post on X on Monday.
The ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after India’s warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack.
The relations further deteriorated after India on August 5, 2019 announced the withdrawal of special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and the bifurcation of the state into two Union territories.
India has been maintaining that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan while insisting that the onus is on Islamabad to create an environment free of terror and hostility for such engagement.
