NEW DELHI: Senior dignitaries and officials from neighbouring countries flocked to Delhi to attend the funeral and pay tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was cremated with full state honours at Smriti Sthal in New Delhi on Friday.All of them met external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to convey their condolences, before accompanying her to the funeral, where they were introduced to Prime Minister Vajpayee and paid floral tribute to the departed leader before his mortal remains were consigned to flames.
The leaders included Pakistan’s Law minister Ali Zafar, King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk of Bhutan, Nepal’s foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, the foreign minister of Bangladesh, Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali, the acting foreign minister of Sri Lanka, Lakshman Kiriella, and the former president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai.
While almost every diplomatic mission in India expressed sorrow over Vajpayee’s demise, no ambassador or high commissioner paid floral tribute at the funeral, though several sent wreaths on behalf of their nations. “The funeral would have stretched on forever if every envoy was invited to pay personal ceremonial tributes,” an official said.