Pakistanis world over marked their Republic Day on 23 March with Prime Minister Narendra Modi also choosing to greet Nawaz Sharif on the occasion.
Modi said that India wanted to have good neighbourly relations with it in an “environment free from terror and violence”, a development that comes amid continued strain in ties between the two countries.
According to sources, Prime Minister Modi wrote a letter to Sharif to wish him on the Pakistan National Day.
President Pranab Mukherjee also sent a message to his Pakistani counterpart Mamnoon Hussain yesterday, saying India is committed to building ties with Pakistan in an environment free from terror and violence.
Later in the day Union Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar represented the government at the Pakistan Day celebration in Delhi, which was also attended by a host of other dignitaries and political leaders.
The programme was organised at the Pakistan High Commission, where High Commissioner Abdul Basit received guests for the last time as the envoy as his term ends soon.
Slightly away from India in Dubai, the iconic Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, painted itself, into Pakistani flag.
نهنيء شعب وقيادة باكستان في يوم الجمهورية السابع والسبعين من #برج_خليفة. pic.twitter.com/l1HxhrJjYU
— Burj Khalifa (@BurjKhalifa) March 23, 2017
Earlier this year, Burj Khalifa had lit up in tricolour to mark India’s Republic Day. Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was the Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade for this year’s Republic Day parade.
Supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had then applauded him for his foreign policy, which, according to them, had resulted in even a foreign country to take such ‘extraordinary’ step in India’s favour. Others had termed it as a sign of Pakistan’s isolation because of effective foreign police of the Indian prime minister.
(With PTI inputs)