India has invited heads of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister on Monday.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai are among the leaders of eight member regional grouping who have been invited.

Official sources told AIR in New Delhi today that the Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh has written to her SAARC counterparts, inviting their leaders to attend the ceremony.

President Karzai has already accepted the invitation. Three thousand guests are expected to attend swearing-in ceremony at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and other leaders from the state today praised Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi for inviting Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to his swearing in ceremony on May 26.

Omar, on twitter, said, excellent move by Narendra Modi to invite SAARC leaders, especially Pak PM for his swearing in. He hoped this was the beginning of sustained talks. He, however, wondered how BJP would have reacted to a similar move by Congress.

Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti, too, hailed the move, saying it was a good omen. Mehbooba said Modi would perhaps be the first Prime Minister ever to invite a Pakistani premier to his swearing-in ceremony, while leader of the moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, expressed hope that it would pave the way for meaningful dialogue between India and Pakistan.