Islamabad: After prolonged consultations, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday accepted an invitation from India’s prime minister-designate Narendra Modi to attend his swearing-in ceremony.
Leaders of major Pakistani political parties welcomed the decision announced by Sharif’s office, three days after the receipt of the invitation to attend the ceremony to be held in New Delhi on Monday.
According to the foreign ministry, Sharif will have a bilateral meeting with Narendra Modi on Tuesday and also meet the Indian President.
Sharif’s Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry will accompany the prime minister on the visit to India.
Officials said the occasion would provide an opportunity to devise a strategy to move forward towards the normalisation of ties with India and durable peace in the region.
Earlier this week, a foreign ministry spokesperson expressed hope that the Pakistan-India composite dialogue process stalled since 2008 would resume after the new Indian government takes over.
The spokesperson emphasised that Pakistan wants “uninterrupted and uninterruptible” dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues, including the thorny Kashmir dispute.
During the run of the last Bharatiya Janata Party government, the then Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee paid a visit to Pakistan in February 1999 that marked a noticeable improvement in relations.
Opposition leader in Pakistan’s National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah said the prime minister’s visit to New Delhi will have a positive impact on the region and result in the building of cordial relations between the two sides.
Jamiat Ulema Islam Chief Maulana Fazal-ur-Rahman said by accepting the invitation, the government has given a clear message that it wants a peaceful settlement of all outstanding issues with India, including Kashmir.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf senior leader Makhdoom Javed Hash said the visit is in the interest of the country and hoped that there would be progress over the core issues between the two countries.
Awami National Party leader, Ghulam Ahmad Bilour said the Prime Minister has taken a very good decision to participate in the oath-taking ceremony.
Hafiz Saeed, former head of defunct Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group who now leads Jamaat-ut-Dawa charity organisation, struck a discordant note.
Saeed said the prime minister should not have accepted Modi’s invitation in view of India’s refusal to accept the right of the people of Kashmir to self-determination.
