As Narendra Modi is all set to assume the office of the Prime Minister for the second time in India, the neighbourly nation, Pakistan, has shown its eagerness for “positive” relations with India and even assured that all issues shall be sorted out diplomatically. But the country’s foreign office has been very shy in responding to why has it not publicly congratulated Modi for his electoral victory?.
Responding to India’s press statements about the protection of Pakistani diplomats, the spokesperson of Foreign Office in Pakistan, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, stated that the ‘It is up to the people of India to decide about their own leadership and it would be premature for them to comment on the formation of the new government in India’. Baloch also stated that the same thing holds for Pakistan; they have been playing their part ‘responsibly, ’ as per him, contrary to the ‘rhetoric’ from the Indian side.
What is subtle is that Pakistan has not sent any congratulatory message unlike many other countries including the United States, that congratulated Modi and BJP on their triumph. In the Indian political scenario the Imaran Khan party became single largest party in Pakistan in 2018 yet Prime Minister Modi had congratulated him before taking oath.
The bilateral ties between India and Pakistan had remained tense in the past few years, especially when the Pulwama terror attack happened in India, followed by the removal of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan has continuously countered this argument, pointing out that New Delhi has time and again insisted that the change in the erstwhile state is an act of domestic politics.
However, it appears that Pakistan, which in the past had been critical of the previous Indian government, is not averse to engaging with the new government in India through its latest statement; while not extending any congratulatory message, it clearly shows there are still some major issues between India and Pakistan. It is, however, important to point out that a major area of focus for Narendra Modi and his administration when he comes to power will be the handling of the India-Pakistan relations.
