Two days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended birthday greetings to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, hardline Hindu nationalist party Shiv Sena in a veiled reference to the event slammed the Indian premier’s soft diplomacy.
The Shiv Sena in an op-ed in its newspaper Saamana invoked Chhatrapati Shivaji, a prominent Hindu warrior, saying that he never extended good wishes to his enemies.
The right-wing party said: “What is outstanding about Shivaji Maharaj’s thoughts is that he considered enemies of Swarajya as enemies of the nation. Shivaji Maharaj never extended birthday greetings to Aurangzeb, Afzal Khan and Shaista Khan.”
Modi had used social networking website Twitter to extend greetings to Nawaz on his birthday. “Birthday wishes to Pakistan PM Mr Nawaz Sharif. I pray for his long and healthy life,” read Modi’s tweet.
The Indian premier’s birthday wishes come as tensions simmer between Pakistan and India amid intermittent ceasefire violations across the Line of Control and Working Boundary following an alleged ‘surgical strike’, unrest in Kashmir and the Uri army base attack.
Maryam Nawaz, PM Nawaz’s daughter tweeted in response to Modi: “Thank u for your kind prayers. Shared your tweet with my father who deeply appreciates the gesture and conveys his best.”
Last year, Mr Modi while returning from his Afghanistan visit had “dropped by” in Lahore on a ‘surprise’ visit to greet Nawaz on his birthday and also to attend his granddaughter’s wedding.
The Indian prime minister gifted PM Nawaz a pink Rajasthani turban which the latter wore at the wedding ceremony. Agencies
