On the flip side, Pakistan’s former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, has shown the new Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, the fist of friendship. Modi was sworn in for the third term of his Prime Ministership of India whereas on the other hand, Sharif graciously congratulated Modi through his social media accounts.
Recent elections show that people of our country have confidence in your party and your leadership, Said Sharif in his message posted on X. Let us turn the page on hate and embrace hope and let’s work to write the future for two billion South Asian people.
Modi merely viewed the comment as the truth and expressed it with such caution, but simultaneously, he was delighted. He said,
“The people of India have always believer in the ideals of peace, security, and progressiveness.”
It is critical to continue the development of human beings as well as their security remains the focus of our concern all the time.
This exchange may signal a gradual opening of the usually cold relations between the two nuclear powers. Valiant efforts by Sharif and Modi to restore diplomatic relations were in the past when diplomatic relations were stopped again due to tensions and terrorist attacks.
Even in 2014, before he turned openly hostile to Pakistan, Modi had invited Sharif to his first oath taking ceremony as Prime Minister after winning the General Elections. In mid-February, Premier Sharif visited Delhi, indicating the readiness to make a dialogue. However, the next considerably aggressive actions, such as the Pathankot and Uri attacks, paused the peace process.
It’s quite intriguing to note the difference in the stand that the Sharif brothers have taken regarding Modi. While Nawaz agreed to refer to the PCI report in a reconciliatory manner, his brother Shehbaz, the current Pakistani Prime Minister, in his couple of lines, returned the message that said “felicitations.”
This shows the civil-military divide in Pakistan when it comes to Indian policy, which has a military mind thinking differently than a civilian. Pakistan’s military establishment maintains a hostile stance toward India and is not receptive to the kind of overtures Nawaz Sharif espouses for improving bilateral relations.
While Modi starts his third term as the Prime Minister, clear opportunities and risks are having in the horizon for better India-Pakistan relations. However, more recently, the Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif, offered his olive branch that depicts a ray of light that both neighbors can transform the confrontation from ‘Hate to Hope’ – if the military establishment in Islamabad permits it.
