NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s next prime minister plans to invite the leader of rival Pakistan to his inauguration along with other South Asian leaders, his party said Wednesday.
The decision by Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi could signal an intent to improve ties with Pakistan. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since their independence from Britain in 1947.
The External Affairs Ministry will issue the formal invitations in days, Nirmala Sitharaman, a spokesman for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, said.
Modi will be sworn into office on Monday after leading BJP to a landslide victory in the elections that concluded last week.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was among early leaders to call Modi to congratulate him after his overwhelming victory in the elections. Sharif also invited Modi to visit Pakistan.
Relations between India and Pakistan were frozen after an attack on Mumbai in 2008 in which Pakistani terrorists killed 166 people. A mild thaw since then has helped trade and people-to-people links, but not much progress has been made to restore bilateral ties.
No foreign leaders were invited to outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s inaugurations in 2004 and 2009.
The move to invite South Asian leaders was welcomed by political parties in India, especially those in Kashmir, which both countries claim entirely.
Indian Kashmir’s top elected official, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, hailed the invitations as an “excellent move” by Modi.
“Hope this is beginning of sustained talks,” Abdullah tweeted.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, and they’ve fought two of their three wars over the Himalayan territory.
