Seven leaders of neighbouring nations barring Pakistan, but including the currently-estranged Maldives, will attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi on Sunday evening.In a way, the invitations are a redux of Modi’s first swearing-in when he had invited all of SAARC’s leaders including then Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif.
Sources said no invite was sent to Islamabad and, even if it had been despatched, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif could not have made it in view of his pre-scheduled and much-awaited ongoing visit to China.
While leaders from over 50 countries have congratulated India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his re-election following the victory of the BJP -led NDA in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, Pakistan has refrained from sending any greetings on the occasion.
PM Modi’s re-election has sparked speculation on how it would impact India’s future relations with Pakistan amid years of strained bilateral relations. During elections PM Modi repeatedly accused Congress that Pakistan leaders want its return in India.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Friday said it seeks “cooperative” relations with all its neighbours including India, and it has consistently advocated “constructive dialogue and engagement” to resolve all issues, including the Kashmir dispute that has become the centrepiece of the decades-long conflict between New Delhi and Islamabad, Dawn reported. “Pakistan believes in peaceful coexistence. We want peace and stability in the region,” said spokesperson Mumtaz Baloch.
On being asked why Pakistan has not yet congratulated India on the results of its Lok Sabha elections, the Foreign Office gave an evasive reply, saying, “it is the right of the people of India to decide about their own leadership”. Baloch also highlighted Pakistan’s opposition to the abrogation of Article 370 that granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and the “vitriolic rhetoric” against Pakistan in the recent elections.
The Foreign Office spokesperson also claimed that despite ongoing challenges in relations with India and the hostile rhetoric emanating from there, Pakistan has consistently chosen to respond responsibly. She said it was “premature” to talk about congratulating PM Modi, as the new government was yet to be sworn in. “So, I am not in a position to comment on your question,” she said.
Pakistan downgraded its ties with India after the Indian Parliament suspended Article 370 on August 5, 2019, a decision that Islamabad believed undermined the environment for holding talks between the neighbours. India has been maintaining that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan while insisting that the onus is on Islamabad to create an environment that is free of terror and hostility for such an engagement.
