'Invitation depends on...': MEA reacts after Mani Shankar Aiyar attends Pak embassy’s Iftaar event

Reacting to the recent Iftaar party organised by the Pakistan High Commission, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Friday said” invitations depend on relationships”.

“Nimantran toh rishton pe nirbhar karta hai na,” Jaiswal said at a press conference. He was responding to the question if any Indian government official was invited to the event organised on National Day of Pakistan.

#WATCH | Delhi: "Nimantran toh rishton pe nirbhar karta hai naa..." says MEA Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on being asked if any Indian Govt official was invited to the Iftar dinner organised at Pakistan High Commission on the occasion of National Day of Pakistan pic.twitter.com/h3Pp5OSzRL

ANI (@ANI) March 21, 2025

His reaction came after the BJP attacked Congress leader Manishankar Aiyar for attending the Iftaar party. “In ‘Modi-Virodh’ they are indulging in ‘Desh-Virodh,” said BJP’s Shehzad Poonawalla.

BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said that “Congress loves Pakistan". “This makes it clear that whether it’s Mani Shankar Aiyar or any Congress leader, they have a love for Pakistan in their hearts," Bhandari said.

Jaiswal also slammed Pakistan for promoting cross-border terrorism and called it the biggest roadblock to peace and security in the region. “We had made a statement two days back. In that statement, among other things, we had mentioned that the world clearly knows that the real issue is Pakistan's active promotion and sponsorship of cross-border terrorism. In fact, this is the biggest roadblock to peace and security in the region," the MEA spokesperson said.

#WATCH | Delhi: On Pakistan, MEA Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, "...The world clearly knows that the real issue is Pakistan's active promotion and sponsorship of cross-border terrorism. In fact, this is the biggest roadblock to peace and security in the region." pic.twitter.com/CW7YPaqJAC ANI (@ANI) March 21, 2025

Earlier on Wednesday, the MEA had strongly rebuked Pakistan after it termed PM Modi’s remarks on Jammu & Kashmir "misleading and one-sided". The MEA said that Pakistan should vacate Indian territory under its "illegal" occupation instead of "spreading lies".

PM Modi during the podcast with Lex Fridman said that "every attempt to foster peace with Pakistan was met with hostility and betrayal" and that he hoped that "wisdom would prevail on the leadership in Islamabad to improve bilateral ties".