ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s ruling party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), took a note out of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan's Twitter feed on March 3 to repost a message in Hindi for Indians across the globe.
Sheikh Nahyan's message, posted on February 28, included two tweets -- one in Urdu and the other in Hindi -- addressed to nationals of both countries in a bid to defuse the ongoing crisis.
Translated into English the Hindi read: ‘Mohammed bin Zayed emphasized the importance of addressing recent developments and prioritising dialogue.’
Tensions along the border took a turn for the worse following a suicide attack on February 14 which killed at least 40 paramilitary troopers in the Pulwama district of Indian-administered Kashmir, with New Delhi maintaining that the attack was carried out by a Pakistan-based militant outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammad. Pakistan denies the allegations.
The incident led to both the countries indulging in airstrikes resulting in Pakistan capturing an Indian Air Force pilot on February 27.
While Islamabad decided to release Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman on March 1 as a peace gesture, Pakistan's armed forces continue to remain vigilant.
The PTI reposted Sheikh Nahyan's tweet opening a floodgate of messages on the social media platform, with several asking for Prime Minister Imran Khan's to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his decision to return the pilot to India.
However, Khan took to Twitter on Sunday to shoot down the idea.
"I am not worthy of the Nobel Peace prize," he wrote, adding that the "person worthy of this would be the one who solves the Kashmir dispute according to the wishes of the Kashmiri people and paves the way for peace & human development in the subcontinent".
His tweet, which has been liked more than 100,000 times and retweeted 30,000 times was translated into Hindi by the PTI.
The PTI has a trackrecord of wishing India on its national holidays such as Diwali and more. However, with the current state of affairs, the need for dialogue, deescalation and peace talks being was solidified by the tweet in Hindi.
