Imran Khan, Pakistan's prime minister-to-be, has invited former Indian cricketers Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Navjot Singh Sidhu and actor Aamir Khan to his oath-taking ceremony on August 11, reports NDTV.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said it has asked the Foreign Office to appraise it on whether the heads of state, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, could be invited for the event, reports bdnews24.com.
"Media speculations about international dignitaries attending PM oath ceremony are not correct. We have sought the advice of Foreign Office on the matter and will decide accordingly #PTI," Fawad Chaudhry, PTI spokesperson, tweeted on Tuesday.
Sources privy to the meeting between the Foreign Office and some senior PTI leaders told DawnNewsTv that the party wished to know which foreign leaders it would be possible to invite given the short period of time before the event takes place.
The sources told the Pakistani news channel that PTI leaders wished to invite the heads of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation or Saarc member states, including Modi and leaders of China and Turkey.
Modi had called Imran Khan to congratulate him on his party's victory in the general elections in Pakistan and hoped that "Pakistan and India will work to open a new chapter in bilateral ties". Khan in his victory speech had also said that better relations between Pakistan and India would be "good for all of us".
Navjot Singh Sidhu has already accepted the invitation, calling Imran Khan "a man of character", said NDTV.
“It is a great honour and I accept the invitation. Men of genius are admired, men of power are feared but men of character are trusted. Khan Sahab is a man of character. He can be trusted,” said Sidhu, also a cricketer-turned-politician like Khan.