In a Succinct Message, Modi Congratulates Shehbaz Sharif for Taking Over as Pakistan PM

New Delhi: In a brief message, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended congratulations to Shehbaz Sharif, a day after he was sworn in as Pakistan’s prime minister on Tuesday.

“Congratulations to @CMShehbaz on being sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan,” posted Modi on his account on X, previously known as Twitter.

Earlier on Monday, Shehbaz Sharif was administered the oath of secrecy by President Arif Alvi, bringing an end to uncertainty over the formation of the government following a General Election marred by allegations of brazen rigging.

This is Shehbaz Sharif’s second term as Prime Minister as he had been first elected premier in April 2022 after the joint opposition had successfully passed a no-confidence motion against his predecessor, Imran Khan.

Just two days ago, Sharif made a reference to Kashmir, and equated it to Gaza by mentioning it in same sentence, in his first speech after being elected in parliament.

“Let’s all come together […] and the National Assembly should pass a resolution for the freedom of Kashmiris and Palestinians,” he said.

However, his mention of Kashmir was not as strident or expansive compared to his speech in 2022, when he had said that good ties with India were conditional on a “just” solution to the disputed region. “We will raise our voice for Kashmiri brother on every forum. We will give them diplomatic and moral support,” he said on April 11, 2022.

He had also criticised Imran Khan for not robustly raising concerns over India’s reading down of Article 370.

Despite the new Pakistan PM speaking more extensively about Kashmir in his speech, Modi’s congratulatory tweet to Sharif on the same day had also been expansive expressing a desire for peace in a “region free of terror”.

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.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 11, 2022

Two years later, Sharif did rake up Kashmir in his first speech in the second term, but there was no mention of Article 370.

Although relations between the two neighbours have historically been tense, they significantly deteriorated after India amended Article 370 in 2019, thereby diluting the constitutional autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir.

While the election season has ended in Pakistan, it is just starting in India where the next parliament will be elected by May. Till now, there has not been any signal from New Delhi that there is any appetite for outreach with the new Pakistan government.

China had been quick off the bat to send felicitations to Prime Minister Sharif from President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Monday. Another close Pakistan ally, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erd­ogan also called Sharif to personally offer congratulations.

The US ambassador to Islamabad, David Blome tweeted that he was looking “forward to working closely with the government and people of Pakistan on our mutual interests”.

Earlier at a media briefing in Washington on Monday, the US state department spokesperson Mathew Miller had said that the relationship will “continue to focus on advancing the shared interests”.

“We have said before, we value our alliance — long-standing partnership — with Pakistan and have always viewed a strong, prosperous, and democratic Pakistan is as critical to United States-Pakistan interests,” he said.

While Pakistan faces a gamut of security challenges especially due to surge in terror attacks by Tehreek-e-Taliban, Sharif’s immediate priority will likely be to negotiate a fresh bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the current program is set to expire this month.

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