Islamabad: Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry, who mocked the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) earlier after the failure of a previous mission, on Wednesday congratulated the ISRO's soft-landing on the lunar South Pole.

Taking to his official handle on X, formerly Twitter, Chaudhry said, "What a great moment for #ISRO as #Chandrayaan3 lands on the Moon, I can see lots of young scientists celebrating this moment with Mr Somnat Chairman ISRO, only Younger generation with dreams can change the world … good luck"

Even before the Chandrayaan-3 landed, a former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf PTI) member said, "Pak media should show #Chandrayan moon landing live tomorrow at 6:15 PM… historic moment for Humankind especially for the people, scientists and Space community of India…. Many Congratulations."

In 2019, after ISRO lost contact with the Chandrayaan-2 lander minutes before its scheduled touchdown, Choudhary mocked India for the failure and questioned the wisdom of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in spending Rs 900 crore on the mission saying it was unwise to venture into unknown territory.

He even used hashtags like "#IndiaFailed" to mock India.

However, with India becoming the first country on Wednesday to place a lander on the uncharted south side of the moon, the minister's views on India's space research appeared to have changed.

After the remarkable soft landing on the moon's south side, the ISRO posted on its official handle, "Chandrayaan-3 Mission: 'India, I reached my destination and you too!' Chandrayaan-3 has successfully soft-landed on the moon! Congratulations, India!"

The Vikram lander carrying the 'Pragyaan' rover in its belly touched down on the lunar surface, marking a giant leap in India’s spacefaring journey and providing a deserved finale to ISRO’s long years of toil.

India became only the fourth country — after the US, China, and Russia — to have successfully placed a lander on the lunar South Pole.

It also entered record books as the first country to touch down on the south side of Earth’s only natural satellite.