Imran calls Modi to toast polls win
The leaders of India and Pakistan spoke by phone yesterday, their offices said, in their first conversation since before tit-for-tat air strikes in February, their worst bust-up in years.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated his counterpart Narendra Modi on his recent election victory, the two nuclear-armed arch foes said in separate statements.
Khan “expressed his desire for both countries to work together for the betterment of their peoples,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.
“Reiterating his vision for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia, the Prime Minister said he looked forward to working with Prime Minister Modi to advance these objectives,” it added.
Modi meanwhile “stressed that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential for fostering cooperation for peace, progress and prosperity in our region,” India’s foreign ministry said.
In February a suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir -- divided between India and Pakistan since partition in 1947 -- claimed by a militant group based in Pakistan killed 40 Indian troops.
India and Pakistan then carried out tit-for-tat air strikes, but to the great relief of the international community the two countries retreated from the brink of further action.
Earlier this month, in a diplomatic victory for India, the UN added Masood Azhar, the leader of the group that claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, to its terrorist blacklist, reported AFP.
The group, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), itself has been on the UN terror list since 2001.
The last time that Modi and Khan spoke is believed to have been when Modi congratulated his counterpart on his election victory in July 2018.
Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) last week sealed a landslide election win, thanks in part to Modi talking tough about Pakistan.
Meanwhile, an Indian official said, Maldives is expected to be the destination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first foreign visit after leading the Bharatiya Janata Party to a sweeping victory in the general election, signalling India’s support for democratic reforms in the Indian Ocean archipelago.
The trip to Male will be first of a string of diplomatic engagements for Modi during June, with the Indian premier also set to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in the Kyrgyzstan capital of Bishkek during June 13-14 and the G20 Summit at Osaka in Japan during June 28-29, reported Hindustan Times Online.
Modi is expected to make a bilateral visit before the SCO Summit though an official announcement would be made at the appropriate time, the official said.
The Maldives’ state broadcaster Public Service Media reported the country would be the destination for his first overseas visit following his re-election. Other media outlets in the Maldives reported Modi is expected to visit during June 7-8. A spokesperson for the Maldives President’s Office, Ibrahim Hood, did not deny the visit.
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