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If Nawaz Sharif does accept the invitation, let's hope @narendramodi will serve him chicken biriyani! — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 21, 2014

I welcome Steps done by Pakistan Government and Welcome the respected PM Mr Nawaz Sharif to India. — Mohammed Shaan (@shaan4me) May 23, 2014

have doubts Nawaz Sharif will accept invitation to Swearing in - too much pressure of ISI and Pak Army nd Hawks — Subodh khanna (@subodh1945) May 23, 2014

And yes add the attack on the temple of democracy under Pak supervision to Pak profile while viewing Nawaz Sharif at Modi's oath taking ! — Saswati Sarkar (@sarkar_swati) May 22, 2014

NEW DELHI: The government is still awaiting confirmation from Pakistan on whether or not Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is going to attend PM-designate Narendra Modi's swearing-in on Monday. Pakistan did hail Modi's initiative as a bold move.Leaders of all other Saarc countries, and also Mauritius PM Navinchandra Ramgoolam, have confirmed their participation apart from Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina who will be in Japan on Monday. Bangladesh will be represented by its Parliament Speaker. The Mauritius PM was invited after a telephonic conversation with Modi."The invitation is a bold and unexpected move. Mr Sharif does not share the anxiety that is felt by some quarters here in Pakistan because he has got some very fond memories of the previous BJP prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee coming to Lahore and he hopes that this anxiety about Modi and his past will fade away," Tariq Azim, media advisor to Sharif's party PML (N), told a news channel.Pakistan's foreign ministry on Thursday said there was also the option of someone else being sent to represent Sharif, leading to speculation that Sharif's party was divided on the issue. Sources here said Sharif may also be influenced by whatever feedback he gets from Pakistan's military establishment.Sources here said Modi and Sharif, if he does come, will have their first bilateral meeting on May 27. Modi is scheduled to have bilateral meetings with all other visiting leaders the same day.The Pakistan foreign office spokesperson suggested that Islamabad may consider sending a representative for Sharif. "It is normal practice that if the head of state has a preoccupation then he can nominate someone else. There is no violation of protocol,'' she said.The UPA-2 government has been upset with Islamabad in the recent past for not granting non-discriminatory market access to India for furthering trade ties. It alleged that the Sharif government did this under pressure from the army. Indian officials believe that the two countries could start afresh if Sharif indeed attends Modi's oath-taking ceremony.By inviting Sharif, Modi has also put the onus on the Pakistani PM to kick off the stalled dialogue process. This is especially true in the light of assertions by Pakistani authorities that Islamabad was willing to have a meaningful, result-oriented dialogue with India under Modi but that the initiative to break the logjam had to come from Modi himself.