As India officially boycotts Pakistan National Day event, Modi writes to Imran

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to extend his greetings on the occasion of National Day of Pakistan.

Celebrated on March 23 every year, Pakistan National Day commemorates the Lahore Resolution of 1940 when the then All India Muslim League first time formally agreed to the creation of a seperate state on religious lines.

The contents of PM Modi’s said letter were made public by Imran on the eve of Pakistan National Day.

"I extend my greetings & best wishes to the people of Pakistan on the National Day of Pakistan. It is time that ppl of Sub-continent work together for a democratic, peaceful, progressive & prosperous region, in an atmosphere free of terror and violence," Imran Khan said on Twitter, citing the message from PM Modi.

In another tweet minutes later, Imran said that he welcomed PM Modi’s message on the eve of the country’s national day.

The MEA didn't immediately react to Imran Khan's statements on Twitter.

Hours before, India called for an official boycott of the event and refused to send a representative to the celebrations that took place at the Pakistan High Commission in the evening.

In fact, until Khan's post on Twitter, India had maintained that it was officially boycotting the National Day Celebrations in India, as a mark of protest towards Islamabad for inviting Kashmiri separatist leaders at the same event.

The Ministry of External Affairs had come down heavily on Islamabad as it stated that the decision of the Pakistani High Commission to invite Kashmiri separatist leaders was the reason behind India's diplomatic rebuff.

"We are very clear that any attempt by the Pakistan High Commission or the Pakistani leadership to engage with the Hurriyat representatives will not be taken lightly,” said MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.

Several journalists attending the event claimed that they had encountered men in civilian clothes at the High Commission who asked them to refrain from attending the celebrations due to the current state of affairs between the two neighbours.

The sightings of intelligence officials in New Delhi's diplomatic enclave seemed rather consistent with the MEA’s strong worded message declaring an official boycott earlier in the day. Intelligence agencies regularly screen frequent visitors to foreign missions and consulates for security reasons.