'Carrying Message of Peace' Nawaz Sharif

'Carrying Message of Peace' Nawaz Sharif Arrives For Narendra Modi's Swearing in india

New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrived in Delhi on Monday to attend Narendra Modi's swearing-in as India's new Prime Minister, in a big step towards revitalizing ties that have been frosty since last year. "I am carrying a message of peace. Dialogue is the only solution," he told reporters before leaving Lahore.

Mr Sharif has come with his wife Kulsoom Nawaz and son Hussain, besides Pakistani officials. This is the first time that a leader from either country has attended his counterpart's inauguration since Independence in 1947.

The Pakistan premier is among the six South Asian leaders invited for the ceremony. Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa have also arrived in Delhi.

Mr Sharif, 64, will meet the new Prime Minister on Tuesday as part of a series of bilateral meetings with all eight world leaders. Officials say the meeting, scheduled for around noon, will largely be an ice-breaker.

"It's a good beginning," said Mr Sharif's foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz, who is accompanying him.

The offer of a meeting with Mr Modi is said to be a major factor in clinching Mr Sharif's visit, which was reportedly opposed by some in Pakistan's security establishment.

Peace moves between the two countries were derailed last year after a series of ceasefire violations. The hostilities escalated with the killing of five Indian soldiers in a Pakistani ambush in August last. In January, 2013, a jawan was beheaded by Pakistan soldiers.

The violence cast a shadow on outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with Mr Sharif on the sidelines of a UN meet in New York in September.

Before his departure, the Pakistan Prime Minister toldreporters in Lahore that “Pakistan wants good relations with

India and I am going to New Delhi with a message of peace”.

It is the first ever visit by a Pakistan leader to India to attend the oath taking ceremony of a prime minister-designate.

 

63-year-old Modi, who led BJP to an astounding victory in the Lok Sabha polls, had last week extended an invitation to SAARC leaders including the Pakistan premier to attend his swearing-in ceremony.

Sharif is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Modi on Tuesday.

Sources said it is expected that the Pakistan leader will also extend a formal invitation to his counterpart for a visit.

No breakthrough is expected during the visit but it will provide the two leaders an opportunity to cultivate personal relations which go a long a way in reducing tensions. Pakistan has avoided repeated reference to Kashmir before the visit which was in contrast to former military ruler Pervez Musharraf's Agra trip of 2001 when he announced that the disputed region will be the central focus of the summit.

In another major development, Pakistan has so far not dropped any hint that Sharif will meet the Kashmiri leaders which is also a departure from the established tradition. Musharraf's high tea party by Pakistan High Commission in 2001 where the APHC leaders were invited had created a storm and almost rocked the entire trip.