Modi, Putin greet Shehbaz on inauguration as PM

Author: Agencies

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on being sworn in as the country’s 24th premier.

“Congratulations to @CMShehbaz on being sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan,” read the statement on the Indian prime minister’s official X handle.

Separately, President of Russia Vladimir Putin on Tuesday congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on his election as the prime minister of Pakistan.

The Russian president highlighted the friendly nature of Russia-Pakistan relations and wished Shehbaz Sharif every success in his important capacity as head of government, the Embassy of Russia in Islamabad said on its X timeline.

Meanwhile, the United States has welcomed the return of Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister and assured that Washington will work with the new Pakistani government on “advancing shared interests” of the two countries.

“So I’m not going to speak with respect to the new prime minister, but as we’ve said before, we value our longstanding partnership with Pakistan and have always viewed a strong, prosperous, and democratic Pakistan as critical to United States-Pakistan interests, and our engagement with new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his government will continue to focus on advancing these shared interests,” said State Department Spokesperson Mathew Miller in a press briefing on Monday.

Earlier, various world leaders and diplomats, including Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iran’s Ebrahim Raisi, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Cameron, US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome and others had also congratulated Shehbaz on taking the helm as the country’s chief executive.

In a congratulatory message, China had said that Pakistan, under PM Shehbaz, is set to achieve greater accomplishment in nation-building.

“We believe that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz and the new administration, Pakistan can achieve a greater agreement in nation building,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning. Felicitating Shehbaz Sharif on assuming the prime minister’s office, she said, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang had sent congratulatory messages to him.