PM Narendra Modi wishes Nawaz Sharif on his 64th birthday

NEW DELHI: Extending yet another olive branch to Pakistan, a week after calling the Pakistani PM to mourn the Peshawar attack, Narendra Modi greeted Nawaz Sharif on Thursday, which happens to be his birthday.

"On his birthday, I convey my good wishes to Mr Nawaz Sharif and I pray that Almighty blesses him with good health," Modi said. Sharif, who had attended Modi's swearing-in ceremony here on May 26, turned 64 on Thursday. His visit to India was considered a key step towards normalising bilateral ties.

However, there has been a chill in relations since the foreign secretary-level dialogue was cancelled by the Modi government after Islamabad's engagement with the Hurriyat Conference. The subsequent ceasefire violations along the Line of Control did not instil confidence either, and this cast a shadow at Kathmandu where Sharif and Modi restricted themselves to mere pleasantries and handshakes.

The ghastly terror attack at a Peshawar school though saw Modi reaching out to Sharif and even sending NSA to visit Pakistan High Commission to pay condolences. Pakistan, on its part, decided to challenge the bail order of LeT commander and one of 26/11 masterminds Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi. A structured dialogue is not yet on the cards though.

Meanwhile, Sharif on Thursday sent a bouquet of flowers to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his 90th birthday. Tahir Mehmood, an official of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, delivered the bouquet to the former prime minister's residence. Thursday also happens to be the 138th birth anniversary of Pakistan's founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah. It may be recalled that Sharif and Vajpayee shared a warm relationship when they were prime ministers.