Pakistan’s newly-elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his greetings on social media on Thursday, even as the two countries showed no signs of any thaw in ties at present.
“Thank you [PM Modi] for felicitations on my election as the Prime Minister of Pakistan,” Mr. Sharif said, in response to PM Modi’s equally short message of “Congratulations to [PM Sharif] on being sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.”
Significantly, the messaging was welcomed by Washington on Wednesday, which said it would also welcome talks between the two countries. “The United States values its relationship with both India and Pakistan, and we want to see them have a productive and peaceful relationship,” said U.S. State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller at a regular briefing. “We would welcome productive and peaceful talks between India and Pakistan, but the pace, scope, and character of any dialogue is a matter for India and Pakistan to determine,” he added, when asked a specific question about talks on Jammu and Kashmir.
