Nawaz foresees thaw in Pak-India ties after SCO summit

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) President Nawaz Sharif said on Thursday that the SCO summit, which was also attended by an Indian foreign minister in a rare visit, could be the beginning of normalisation of ties between India and Pakistan.

He made the statement in a meeting with a delegation of Indian journalists who came to Pakistan for the coverage of recently concluded Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) moot attended by foreign leaders from 10 countries. The meeting was also attended by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb.

Stressing the need to revive cricket diplomacy between the South Asian nations, Nawaz said the Indian cricket team should visit Pakistan for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. “If you ask the Indian cricket team, they would also suggest playing in Pakistan. Though they are ready to play, those who have the power to allow them don’t grant them permission,” he told the journalists.

He said it would have been better had Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the SCO conference in Pakistan; however, the arrival of neighbouring country’s foreign minister was also a good sign.

Jaishankar, who attended the SCO moot in Islamabad, was the first foreign minister of the neighbouring country to visit Pakistan in nearly a decade.

In his interaction with the journalists, Nawaz said although the two countries had a bitter past, there is a need to look forward and talk about the future. Shedding light on mutual issues which could be points of collaboration, the PMLN president said that Islamabad and New Delhi needed to immediately work on climate change and bilateral trade.

Pointing towards the suspended trade ties between the neighbours for years, Nawaz told the foreign journalists that the cost of different Indian commodities and vegetables had increased in Pakistan as the products arrived in Pakistan via Dubai. “Improved Pakistan-India relations would allow transportation of essential commodities to Pakistan within two hours,” he added.

Prior to this meeting, Nawaz was also interviewed by renowned Indian journalist Barkha Dutt earlier this week before the commencement of SCO conference. In the interview, the former prime minister had expressed optimism about meeting Indian premier Modi in the near future and advocated improved relations with the neighbouring country.

“I have always been a supporter of good relations with India,” Nawaz said, expressing the hope that there was an opportunity to revive the relationship.