Nawaz, Modi desire peace in rare exchange of greetings after Indian elections

• Rare exchange of greetings take place between Nawaz and Modi.
• PM Shehbaz, Nawaz Sharif congratulate Modi on his reelection.
• PM Modi says people of India “always stood for peace, security”. 

A rare exchange of greetings took place between three-time former premier Nawaz Sharif and India’s newly reelected Prime Minister Narendra Modi on popular social media site X.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz congratulated Modi on his election as the Indian prime minister for the record third time despite setbacks in the recently-held polls.

“My warm felicitations to Modi Ji on assuming office for the third time. Your party’s success in recent elections reflects the confidence of the people in your leadership,” wrote Nawaz on his official X handle.

“Let us replace hate with hope and seize the opportunity to shape the destiny of the two billion people of South Asia,” the ex-PM added.

Modi responded to Nawaz’s message in kind, saying: “Appreciate your message Nawaz Sharif. The people of India have always stood for peace, security and progressive ideas.”

He further said that advancing the well-being and security of “our people shall always remain our priority”.

Similarly, Modi also responded to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, younger brother of Nawaz, as the two premier of the archrivals nations engaged in diplomacy on X.

A few hours after PM Shehbaz had wished him well, Modi responded on X: “Thank you @cmshehbaz for your good wishes”.

Modi secured a record-equaling third term but lost his outright majority and is dependent on regional parties for support in his first coalition government.

The nuclear-armed rivals and neighbours India and Pakistan have fought three wars, including two over control of the disputed Kashmir region in the Himalayas.

Ties between the nuclear-armed rivals have been frozen since India ended the special status of India Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ) state in 2019 and split it into two federally administered territories.

New Delhi invited leaders of seven regional countries to Sunday’s grand inauguration at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, or president’s palace, in New Delhi but PM Shehbaz wasn’t included.