India’s Modi invites Pakistani prime minister to inauguration

India's incoming prime minister, Narendra Modi, yesterday invited his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, to attend his swearing-in ceremony next week, an unusual gesture that has inspired hopes that the change in government will lead to improved relations between the two countries.

Mr Modi, a Hindu nationalist who promised during his campaign to make India a more muscular presence on the world stage, has broken new ground by extending invitations to the leaders of all of India’s neighbours.

Previous swearing-in ceremonies have been small affairs, a reflection of the country’s inward-looking approach to politics. Mr Modi has made it clear that he hopes to make India a leader in its own neighbourhood, knitting together a regional trade and economic bloc.

The invitation to Mr Sharif, who has never made an official visit to India, was the biggest surprise. A tentative effort to build economic and diplomatic ties under prime minister Manmohan Singh of the Indian National Congress fell apart last year, when deadly skirmishes broke out along the contested border in Kashmir. Mr Singh declared that "after this dastardly act, there can't be business as usual with Pakistan".

Pakistani officials have expressed hope that Mr Modi, who has a reputation as a hard-liner, and the Bharatiya Janata Party would seize an opportunity to rebuild ties, precisely because he is much less vulnerable to charges of weakness. – (New York Times)