On Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed gratitude to the Sharif brothers for his congrats on his third term as prime minister.
At a ceremony on Sunday, leaders from Bangladesh, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka saw Modi’s swearing in. China and Pakistan, meanwhile, were not there.
Almost a week after the results were announced, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated his colleague on his reelection in a brief statement earlier today.
In his first public post from Pakistan on X, he wrote, “Felicitations to Narendra Modi on taking oath as the prime minister of India.”
Nawaz Sharif, the PML-N President and former prime minister, also thanked the Indian government. In a post on X, Nawaz stated, “Your party’s success in recent elections reflects the confidence of the people in your leadership.”
“Let us take this opportunity to shape the future of the two billion people in South Asia and replace hate with hope,” he continued.
A few hours later, PM Modi replied to each of them, expressing gratitude for PM Shehbaz’s “best wishes.”
He said to Nawaz, “Thank you for your message, Nawaz Sharif. India’s populace has traditionally supported progressive ideals, safety, and harmony. Increasing our people’s security and well-being will always be our top concern.
Nawaz was present at the event in 2014, the first time in the history of the nuclear-armed states, that Modi took office as prime leader.
However, since Modi took office ten years ago and intensified his Hindu nationalist agenda, the neighbors’ relationship has deteriorated and they today have little to no interaction.
In 2019, Pakistan severed diplomatic ties and ceased trading with New Delhi after to Prime Minister Modi’s largely applauded removal of Kashmir’s limited autonomy.
PM Shehbaz has expressed a desire to strengthen his relationship with India in the past.
However, experts claim that Pakistan, which is only one-sixth the size of India, has few options.
In an opinion piece published in Dawn last week, author and opinion writer Zahid Hussain claimed that Modi’s “election campaign pivoted around anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan rhetoric.”
After the election, he declared, “Modi’s campaign narrative made it absolutely clear that the Muslims will be politically disempowered, economically marginalized, and deprived of their constitutional rights.”
