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Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday expressed hope that relations between India and Pakistan will become better after his friend Imran Khan became the country’s 22nd Prime Minister today. Sidhu was in Islamabad to attend Khan’s oath-taking ceremony at the Aiwan-e-Sadr (the President House).
Sidhu said Imran has been his good friend and his victory in the recently-held Pakistan elections will be good for Pak-India peace process. Sidhu, who is a minister in the Congress government in Punjab, was wearing a dark blue suit and a purple turban, PTI reported. He was among several guests present on the occasion. Khan, who famously captained the national cricket team to World Cup glory in 1992, had invited some of his former teammates and friends to witness his formal accession to the top ministerial job in the country.
Sidhu was greeted by Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Gen Bajwa hugged Sidhu and both chatted briefly. Talking to the state-run PTV, Sidhu used his usual poetic expression to praise Khan. “A new morning is here in Pakistan with a new government which can change the destiny of the country,” said Sidhu.
The ties between the two countries had strained after the terror attacks by Pakistan-based groups in 2016 and India’s surgical strikes inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The sentencing of alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav to death by a military court in April last year further deteriorated bilateral ties. Sidhu arrived in Lahore yesterday via the Wagah border. He travelled from Lahore to Islamabad to attend the ceremony.
Welcoming the “change” in Pakistan democracy, Sidhu said that he has brought “a message of love” to Pakistan as a goodwill ambassador of India. “I have come here not as a politician but as a friend. I have come here to take part in the happiness of my friend (Imran),” he told PTI, adding sportsmen and artistes help bringing the people of two sides closer.
Imran Khan — cricketer-turned-politician and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief — took oath as Pakistan’s 22nd Prime Minister on Saturday. He was administered the oath by President Mamnoon Hussain at a simple ceremony held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr (the President House) in Islamabad. “I will bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan,” Khan read from the oath, standing next to the President.
The election in the 15th National Assembly was held on July 25 and results were declared the next day in which Khan’s PTI emerged as the largest party securing 116 seats.
-With PTI inputs
