ISLAMABAD: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote a letter to former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo Nawaz Sharif to condole with him the death of his mother Begum Shamim Akhtar who died in London on November 22, 2020.

Through a letter forwarded by the Indian High Commission to PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister Modi expressed condolences on the demise of Nawaz’s mother.

The November 27, 2020 letter of Prime Minister Modi was forwarded by Indian Charge d'Affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia to Maryam Nawaz on December 11, 2020 at her Jati Umrah residence.

“I am deeply saddened to learn about the demise of your mother Begum Shamim Akhtar on 22 November in London. My heartfelt condolences are with you in this hour of intense grief,” Modi had written in his letter.

The Indian prime minister also recalled his surprise visit to Lahore on his way back to India from Kabul in 2015 to greet the then Nawaz Sharif on wedding of his granddaughter where he also met Begum Shamim Akhtar.

“I recall my interaction with her during my brief visit to Lahore in 2015. Her simplicity and warmth was indeed very touching. In this moment of profound grief, I pray to the Almighty to bestow strength upon you and your family to bear this irreparable loss. May the departed soul rest in peace,” Modi further wrote.

In a separate letter, addressed to Maryam Nawaz, the Indian Charge d'Affaires wrote: “I am forwarding to you a letter from the Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi addressed to the Former Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan His Excellency Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. It is requested that the letter may be conveyed to His Excellency Nawaz Sharif.”

Modi’s letter to the former premier comes at a time when the two sides have downgraded bilateral ties in the wake of the Indian illegal actions of August 5, 2019, and the illegal annexation of occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020