Newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday thanked his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for congratulating him on becoming the 23rd prime minister of Pakistan.
In a tweet, Sharif thanked the Indian premier for his felicitations, saying that Pakistan desired peaceful and cooperative relations with India. He said that both nations needed to come together and solve outstanding issues including the longstanding Jammu and Kashmir dispute. Sharif went on to highlight Pakistan’s sacrifices towards fighting terrorism and called on Modi to work together to secure peace and focus on socio-economic development between the two peoples.
A day ago, in his congratulatory message to Shehbaz on Twitter, PM Modi said, “Congratulations to H. E. Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on his election as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.”
“India desires peace and stability in a region free of terror so that we can focus on our development challenges and ensure the well-being and prosperity of our people,” he said.
In his inaugural speech right after the NA elected him, Shehbaz said that relations with India could not be strengthened until the Kashmir issue was resolved. He said Modi should come forward and resolve the Kashmir issue according to the will of the Kashmiris and reiterated that his government would continue to raise its voice for the people of Kashmir.
