Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday received a telephone call from his Pakistani counterpart, Imran Khan, congratulating him on the historic victory in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Dr Mohammad Faisal took to Twitter to share Khan's cordial greetings and also expressed his desire for both countries to "work together".
“PM (Imran Khan) spoke to PM Modi today and congratulated him on his party’s electoral victory in Lok Sabha elections in India. PM expressed his desire for both countries to work together for betterment of their people,” Dr Mohammad Faisal said.
PM Imran Khan said he looked forward to working with PM Modi to advance peace in the region.
“Reiterating his vision for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia, the Prime Minister said he looked forward to working with Prime Minister Modi to advance these objectives,” said the spokesperson.
Thanking Khan for the congratulatory message, PM Modi referred to his earlier message to Pakistan to jointly fight poverty, an External Affairs Ministry statement said.
The statement added that PM Modi also stressed on creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential for fostering cooperation for peace, progress and prosperity in the region.
Earlier, Khan had said that there would be better ties between the two countries if PM Modi returned to power. "Perhaps if the BJP wins, some kind of settlement in Kashmir could be reached,” Khan was quoted as saying by local Pakistan media.
Tensions between the two nations were on all-time high after a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist killed 40 CRPF soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama on February 14. Retaliation followed and India conducted an airstrike on a Jaish camp in Balakot, Pakistan on February 26.
A day after the airstrike, Pakistan made an unsuccessful attempt to intrude the Indian air space in which an F-16 of the Pakistani Air Force and a MiG-21 Bison of the IAF crashed after a dog fight.
Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan was captured inside the enemy territory, but he was returned within three days of his capture as a "peace gesture".
