India welcomes neighboring leaders in oath-taking ceremony, sends message after China, Pakistan's Kashmir rant

Even as Beijing once again joined Islamabad in attacking New Delhi over the Kashmir issue, India on Sunday sent a message to China and Pakistan by rolling out the red carpet for the district's seven leaders, who attended the Prime Minister's inauguration ceremony. Minister Narendra Modi.

A day after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met in Beijing and opposed unilateral actions aimed at resolving disputes in South Asia, New Delhi received Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, President Ranil Wickremesinghe of Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay of Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth of Mauritius and President Mohamed Muizzu of Maldives attending the swearing-in ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan . The ceremony marked the start of Modi's third consecutive term as Indian Prime Minister.

Ahmed Afif, Vice President of Seychelles, represented President Wavel Ramkalawan of the Indian Ocean archipelago at the ceremony.

New Delhi gathered leaders of seven of India's neighbors in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region at the Rashtrapati Bhavan just after a joint statement issued by China and Pakistan subtly attacked India . Both sides stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability in South Asia, the need to resolve all outstanding disputes and opposed any unilateral action, China and Pakistan said in a statement common, obviously referring to India's decision in August 2019 to remove its territory of Jammu and Kashmir from its special status and reorganize it into two Union Territories. Sharif briefed Xi on the latest developments in the Jammu and Kashmir region. Xi reiterated that the Kashmir issue is a dispute inherited from history and must be properly resolved through peaceful means in accordance with the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements. relevant.

New Delhi maintains that the Shimla Accord of 1972 between India and Pakistan and the Lahore Declaration of 1999 left no scope for the UN or any other third party to play a role in resolving the issues in question. suspense between the two neighbors.

The decision to have the neighboring countries present at the inauguration ceremony of the National Democratic Alliance government in New Delhi on Sunday was significant in the context of India's attempt to counter China's attempt to expand tentacles of its geopolitical influence beyond Pakistan and Afghanistan to other neighboring countries of India.

Muizzu's presence at the Rashtrapati Bhavan was particularly significant as he had over the past few months brought the Maldives into the orbit of China's geopolitical influence, triggering concerns in India. He once led an India Out campaign in the Maldives and won the September 2023 presidential elections by promising to force India to withdraw all its military personnel deployed for medical evacuations and other humanitarian services in the ocean archipelago. Indian.

Muizzu, himself, said before leaving Mal for New Delhi that his visit would demonstrate that relations between the two nations were moving in a positive direction.

When Modi was sworn in to begin his first term as prime minister in May 2014, New Delhi hosted leaders of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries, including M Nawaz Sharif, then prime minister of Pakistan. Modi held separate bilateral meetings with all SAARC leaders, including one with Sharif, raising hopes of a thaw in bilateral relations. But after back-to-back terrorist attacks in India carried out by Pakistan-based groups, Modi refused to attend the 19th SAARC summit that Sharif had planned to host in Islamabad in November 2016, leading to the cancellation of the conclave. Since then, SAARC has remained in an impasse.

As New Delhi strives to breathe new life into BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) and project it as an alternative to SAARC for spoilsport-free regional cooperation with the Pakistan's leaders from the seven-nation bloc were invited to attend the second ceremony when Modi was sworn in for his second term in May 2019.

The leaders of Myanmar and Afghanistan had attended Modis' inauguration ceremony in 2014 and 2019. But with Myanmar being ruled by a military junta since February 2021 and Afghanistan under the Taliban since August 2021, New Delhi refrained from sending invitations to Kabul and Nay. Pyi Daw this time.