PM Modi Podcast: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday opened up on India’s attempts at establishing peace with Pakistan and how it has been received by the neigbouring country. Talking about Pakistan, PM Modi said that every attempt to foster peace with the neighboring country was met with hostility and betrayal and hoped that wisdom would prevail on the leadership in Islamabad to improve bilateral ties.

In a podcast with Lex Fridman released on Sunday, the Prime Minister recalled that he had specially invited his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif for his swearing-in ceremony in 2014 with the hope that the two countries could turn a new leaf.

“Yet, every noble attempt at fostering peace was met with hostility and betrayal. We sincerely hope that wisdom prevails upon them and they choose the path of peace,” the prime minister said in his over three-hour interaction.

Continuing to express his views on Pakistan during the podcast, PM Modi said he believed that even the people in the neighbouring country long for peace because they also must be tired of living in strife, unrest, and relentless terror where even innocent children are killed and countless lives are destroyed.

The Prime Minister said that his first attempt at improving bilateral relations was a gesture of goodwill.

“It was a diplomatic gesture unlike any in decades. The very people who once questioned my approach to foreign policy were taken aback when they learned I had invited all SAARC heads of state, and our then President Pranab Mukherjee beautifully captured that historic gesture in his memoir,” Modi said.

“This was a testament to how clear and confident India’s foreign policy had become. This sent a clear message to the world about India’s commitment to peace and harmony, but we didn’t get the desired outcome,” he said.

(With agency Inputs)