PM Shehbaz congratulates Modi on becoming prime minister for third time

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has congratulated third-time elected Indian Premier Narendra Modi in the first response by Pakistan to elections across the border. 

Shehbaz Sharif took to X (formally Twitter) to extend his greeting to his counterpart. 

“Felicitations to Narendra Modi on taking oath as the Prime Minister of India,” he wrote in a post.

Felicitations to @narendramodi on taking oath as the Prime Minister of India.

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) June 10, 2024

Modi was elected as Prime Minister for the third time as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single largest party in Lok Sabha with 240 seats. 

After the six-week elections, the Modi-led BJP formed a coalition government after huddling with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

On the other hand, the opposition India alliance, led by Rahul Gandhi’s Indian National Congress (INC), collected 232 seats, with 99 Congress winning seats, a significant increase from 52 in 2019. 

Shehbaz's greetings for Modi could appear as ice-melting between two countries,  nuclear-armed rivals and neighbours, fought two battles with each other and remained engaged in clashes since the separations, mainly due to the Kashmir issue. 

The ties between the duo were frozen since India removed the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.