ISLAMABAD: In a first, senior Indian military officials and diplomatsposted in Islamabad on Friday attended the military parade to mark thePakistan Day, said a media report.
The move of the Pakistan Army chief was aimed at sending a message of peaceto New Delhi, claimed the report.
Amid heightened tensions between the two neighbouring countries, thePakistan Army invited, for the first time, Indian Defence Attache andsenior diplomats of the Indian High Commission to join the March 23celebrations, a senior Pakistani military official said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initiative camefrom Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the idea was to senda message of peace to India.
Indian deputy high commissioner J P Singh and Defence and Military AdviserBrigadier Sanjay P Vishwasrao were among those who attended the event,according to media reports.
The move comes at a time when tensions have been simmering betweenIslamabad and New Delhi with frequent incidents of clashes along the Lineof Control and Working Boundary.
While the Pakistan Army chief is believed to be in favour of improved ties,the ball is now in India’s court to see how the unprecedented gesture willbe reciprocated, the report said.
At the Pakistan Day event, President Mamnoon Hussain accused India ofcease-fire violations and human rights abuses, saying New Delhi’s actionshave put regional peace at stake.
He had also raised the Kashmir issue, saying, “the only solution to thedispute of Kashmir is providing the right of self-determination to theKashmiri people, and Pakistan will continue to play its role….”
The participation of Indian diplomats at the Pakistan Day came a day afterPakistan High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood returned to New Delhi aweek after he was called back for consultations amid the raging row betweenIndia and Pakistan over harassment of diplomats.