Atal Bihari Vajpayee Funeral: Dignitaries From Various Countries Including Pakistan, Bangladesh to Attend Former PM's Last Rites

New Delhi, August 17: Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee passed away at 93 on Thursday at AIIMS, New Delhi. He was admitted to the hospital on June 11 for a routine check-up and finally breathed his last yesterday at 5:05. Ever since the news of his demise came out, politicians across party lines have flown to New Delhi to pay their last respect to the leader. Dignitaries from several other nations are also arriving in New Delhi to attend Vajpayee's last rites. According to an India Today report, Pakistan government delegation headed by Pakistan Law Minister has got their visa to attend Vajpayee's funeral. Atal Bihari Vajpayee Funeral: Pakistan Government, Leaders Pay Tribute to Former PM; Say He Contributed for 'A Change' in Bilateral Ties

According to an ANI report, Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, Nepal's Foreign Affairs Min PK Gyawal, Sri Lanka acting Foreign Min Lakshman Kiriella, Bangladesh Foreign Min Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali and Pak Law Min Ali Zafar will arrive in Delhi today to pay tributes to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The other dignitaries took to Twitter and shared their condolences. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement expressed his grief on Vajpayee's demise. He said, "Today, our 2 countries & our bilateral relationship continue to benefit from PM Vajpayee’s vision, which helped promote expanded cooperation. He recognized early on that US & India, based on their shared democratic values, could develop a partnership that would contribute to economic prosperity & security of the region & the world." Atal Bihari Vajpayee Remembered as the Poet, Statesman, Titan, Stalwart, Gentleman by Leading Newspapers

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 17, 2018 12:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).