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| Pakistan PM Sharif is invited to Modi inauguration | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| India has invited Pakistan's leader Nawaz Sharif to Narendra Modi's inauguration as prime minister, Mr Modi's party has said. | |
| This is thought to be the first time a Pakistani leader has been invited to such an event. | This is thought to be the first time a Pakistani leader has been invited to such an event. |
| Other leaders from the South Asia Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc) will also be on the guest list. | Other leaders from the South Asia Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc) will also be on the guest list. |
| But analysts say Mr Sharif's inclusion is of special significance given the tense ties between India and Pakistan. | But analysts say Mr Sharif's inclusion is of special significance given the tense ties between India and Pakistan. |
| Mr Modi, who led his BJP party to a landslide win in the recent election, will be sworn into office on 26 May. | Mr Modi, who led his BJP party to a landslide win in the recent election, will be sworn into office on 26 May. |
| Results show the BJP won the biggest victory by any party in India for 30 years, gaining a majority in parliament and trouncing the outgoing Congress Party. | Results show the BJP won the biggest victory by any party in India for 30 years, gaining a majority in parliament and trouncing the outgoing Congress Party. |
| On Wednesday Mr Modi is due to stand down as chief minister of the western state of Gujarat, a post he has held for 12 years. | |
| Difficult neighbours | |
| Mr Modi is seen as an uncompromising hardliner on national security issues, and his BJP party has long advocated a tough stance on Pakistan. | |
| But correspondents say his huge election victory gives him a mandate to reach out to Pakistan in a way the previous administration could not. | |
| Pakistan's high commission in Delhi says it has yet to receive an invitation for Mr Sharif, and analysts say he may decide not to come. | |
| But the very fact that an invitation is being offered is being seen as a gesture of friendship. | |
| India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence in 1947 - and, more recently, bilateral ties suffered badly in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed by Pakistani gunmen. | |
| Relations have improved slightly under outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but there are still regular skirmishes on the disputed border in Kashmir. |