Amid prevailing tension, PM Modi sends birthday wishes to Nawaz Sharif

New Delhi [India], Dec. 25 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday extended wishes to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on his 67th birthday.

"Birthday wishes to Pakistan PM Mr. Nawaz Sharif. I pray for his long and healthy life," Prime Minister Modi tweeted. Sharif was born on 25 December 1949. He is the 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan in office since June 2013. Despite the prevailing tension between the two countries, these birthday wishes from the Indian Prime Minister to his Pakistani counterpart could also be seen as a positive start between the two big leaders of the two countries where the diplomatic level talks have almost ended for over a year.

The continuous ceasefire violation and recent pull out of India from a key regional conference at the last minute has heightened tensions between the Asian neighbours.

Earlier, India also refused to attend the annual South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit and turned down any option of having bilateral talks with Pakistan.

Source: ANI