Zarif expressed his condolences in a Saturday message to his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj.
The former Indian prime minister died on Thursday at the age of 93 after a prolonged illness at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS). Vajpayee, who had been ailing for long, retreated from active public life over the last decade following the deterioration of his health and remained restricted to his residence.
Vajpayee was an Indian politician who served three terms as the Prime Minister of India: first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 to 1999, and finally, for a full term from 1999 to 2004.
He was conferred India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, by the President of India Pranab Mukherjee in 2015.The current government declared in 2014 that Vajpayee’s birthday, 25 December, would be marked as Good Governance Day.
