Congress veteran Mani Shankar Aiyar, a regular at Iftar dinners hosted by the Pakistani High Commissioner, has not been invited for the June 25th bash. Aiyar, who no longer enjoys a Rajya Sabha berth, probably thought that it was not important to his relationship with the Pakistanis with whom he has had a longstanding warm relationship.

The Lahore born former diplomat and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's confidante has made a name for himself for being a strong proponent of strong ties between India and Pakistan.

He is the one who first said that India and Pakistan should have uninterruptible talks, something that is trashed by the hawks of Lutyen's Delhi. Aiyar has visited Pakistan often and been part of several track 2 initiatives. But he drew flak recently when on a talk show in Pakistan he seemed to appeal to the civil society of Pakistan to throw out the BJP from office if it wanted good ties with India.