By Staff Reporter
LAHORE: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urged a reset in ties with arch-rival India, expressing hope for a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi “in the not-too-distant future.”
In an interview with Indian journalist Barkha Dutt on Monday, Sharif emphasized his desire to revive the relationship. “I have always been a supporter of good relations with India,” Sharif said. “I hope that there is an opportunity to revive our relationship.”
Sharif’s remarks come ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Islamabad, where Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is scheduled to attend.
“It would have been a great thing if PM Modi had also attended the SCO summit here in Pakistan,” Sharif said. “I do hope that he (Modi) and us will have an opportunity to sit together in the not-so-distant future.”
Sharif has previously emphasized the need to improve Pakistan’s relations with India, Afghanistan, and Iran, while strengthening ties with China.
During his tenure, two Indian prime ministers – Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999 and Narendra Modi in 2015 – visited Pakistan. “Modi Sahib and Vajpayee Sahib came here (on my invitation). Did anyone come here before them?” Sharif asked.
After Modi’s re-election, Sharif and his brother, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, congratulated the Indian premier. Sharif wrote on X: “Your party’s success in recent elections reflects the confidence of the people in your leadership. Let us replace hate with hope and seize the opportunity to shape the destiny of the two billion people of South Asia.”
Modi responded, thanking Shehbaz for his “good wishes” and telling Nawaz: “Appreciate your message Nawaz Sharif. The people of India have always stood for peace, security and progressive ideas. Advancing the well-being and security of our people shall always remain our priority.”
Jaishankar’s visit, the first by an Indian Foreign Minister in nearly a decade, comes amid strained ties between the two nations, complicated by diplomatic tensions, border skirmishes, and mutual suspicions
Relations between Pakistan and India have been strained since August 2019, when India revoked Kashmir’s special status and split it into two federally administered territories.
The Kashmir dispute has sparked multiple wars between nuclear-armed neighbors, who accuse each other of stoking militancy and espionage. Pakistan reiterated its support for Kashmiris’ right to self-determination, suspending bilateral trade and downgrading diplomatic ties with India after its 2019 move.
In May last year, then-foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited India to attend the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting, marking the first visit by a Pakistani foreign minister to India in almost 12 years.
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