West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee says Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has invited her to visit that country.
Banerjee said Pakistan High Commissioner Salman Bashir, accompanied by his wife and two diplomats from the High Commission, met her on Monday at the state Secretariat and handed over an invitation of the Pakistan Prime Minister to visit his country at a convenient time.
“The Pakistan High Commissioner has conveyed to me the invitation of the Prime Minister of Pakistan to visit their country at a convenient time,” she said on Facebook.
Also the delegation has expressed interest in cultural and other exchange programmes with West Bengal, the Chief Minister said.
The outgoing Pakistani envoy’s meeting with the Chief Minister, which lasted about an hour, was officially described as a “courtesy call” before he leaves India.
But it is not yet clear why would the Pakistani envoy choose to pay a courtesy call to a Chief Minister of an eastern state which does not share borders with it.
This comes at a time when Pakistan’s relations with Bangladesh has taken a beating after a resolution in its national assembly criticised the hanging of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Molla.
Some ministers of Mamata Banerjee’s government, who hail from Urdu speaking community, are known to enjoy close relations with Jamaat-e-Islami.
She is also known to cultivate clerics from this community to cement her minority support base.
“The Pakistan High Commissioner has conveyed to me the invitation of the Prime Minister of Pakistan to visit their country at a convenient time,” she said.
Also the delegation has expressed interest in cultural and other exchange programmes in the social sector with West Bengal, the Chief Minister said.
Source: Bd news24
