Neighbouring leaders hail Vajpayee’s foreign policy

NEW DELHI: The last rites of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Fridya witnessed massive footfall of administrators and leaders from neighbouring countries, including Pakistan.

From Sri Lanka to Bangladesh to Nepal, representatives of all SAARC countries were present to bid farewell to Vajpayee. Also in attendance was Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who was accomapanied by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, and placed a wreath on the body of Vajpayee.

British High Commissioner to India Sir Dominic Asquith and several other diplomats also paid homage to the former Prime Minister, whose flair for foreign policy and initiatives were acknowledged globally.

“He was an enormously important person who we have great respect for and it’s a great loss for India. I wanted to pay my respects to a man of that stature,” Asquith said.

Nepal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Sri Lanka’s Acting Foreign Minister Lakshman Kiriella, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali and former Afghanistran President Hamid Karzai also attended the funeral were among the numerous foreign leaders.

In a friendly gesture, a delegation from Pakistan also arrived in Delhi on Friday to pay their respects to the former Prime Minister. Pakistan Law Minister Ali Zafar said the officials are here to share the grief and pay their condolences at the funeral ceremony at Smriti Sthal in Delhi. “We are here to share your grief and pay our condolences on the behalf of people of Pakistan,” Zafar said.