India-Pak Relations: The recently concluded Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Pakistan has pointed towards a possible change in the relations between India and Pakistan. India’s Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar participated in this conference organized in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, where some positive signs were seen between the two countries. This was the first time that both sides avoided direct attacks on each other from the stage. This is an indication that perhaps now there are possibilities of taking some positive steps between the two countries.
ABP News journalist Ashish Kumar Singh also went to Islamabad to cover the SCO meeting and after the end of the SCO summit, he spoke to PML (N) chief and former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif in Lahore. .
Before Nawaz Sharif’s comments on India-Pakistan are discussed in detail, it would be pertinent to know that Foreign Minister Dr. S. What was the impact of Jaishankar’s visit to Islamabad?
Will India-Pakistan relations improve?
The special thing during this period was that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar gave speeches at the SCO summit, but both the sides refrained from directly attacking each other, which indicates that there is a possibility of confrontation between the two sides. There is probably some willingness on both sides to create a new environment towards taking more positive steps in the future.
Warm greetings from Jaishankar-Shahbaz
During the SCO summit, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. The meeting between Jaishankar was especially important. When Shehbaz Sharif welcomed all the delegates during the summit dinner in Islamabad, he met Dr. Jaishankar. Both the leaders shook hands and also exchanged some words. Government sources described it as a ‘warm greeting’. The next day, even before the main summit, the two shook hands again and talked with smiles while walking a few steps from each other.
Informal talks after SCO summit
After the summit, another important moment was seen when Dr. Jaishankar and Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar were seen having lunch at the same table. This was neither a formal talk nor a structured conversation, but this meeting was taken positively by both sides. ABP News first broke the news that the two leaders also exchanged a few words in the waiting room. After this, Dr. Jaishankar thanked the Prime Minister of Pakistan and Ishaq Dar on X (first Twitter), to which the Foreign Minister of Pakistan also expressed his gratitude.
Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz’s positive thinking on India-Pak relations
After the SCO summit, Indian journalists got a chance to meet former Pakistan Prime Minister and PML(N) chief Nawaz Sharif and his daughter, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. In this meeting, Nawaz Sharif talked about a new beginning in India-Pakistan relations. He said, “This is a new beginning, we should bury the past and look towards the future. We have wasted 75 years, we should not waste any more time.” These statements of Nawaz Sharif show Pakistan’s intention to improve relations.
When ABP News asked Nawaz Sharif whether the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir will now be left behind, Nawaz Sharif said that such issues should not be discussed at the moment. Instead, we should focus on taking positive steps.
Emphasis on cricket, trade and cultural ties
Nawaz Sharif also said that trade and cricket relations between India and Pakistan should be resumed. “We waste two days in trade via Dubai, whereas it can be done in two hours directly,” he said. He described the trade relations between the two countries as similar to the relations between Indian states. When asked whether Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Sharif should meet during COP29 in November, he supported it.
Sharif also advocated the resumption of India-Pakistan cricket matches. He asked, “What do we gain by not sending our teams to each other’s countries?” When asked whether India should send Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, he said, “You have spoken my heart.” Nawaz Sharif said that if Pakistan team plays any final match in India, he will himself come to India and watch the match.
Maryam Nawaz’s interest in Indian Punjab
During this meeting, Maryam Nawaz also showed warmth towards Indian journalists and said that she would like to visit India, especially Indian Punjab, as both Punjabs have a common history and culture. He also emphasized on the possibilities of cooperation between India and Pakistan in areas like sports and climate change.
After the SCO summit, positive signs have been seen in the relations between India and Pakistan. It is clear from the statements of Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz that Pakistan is ready to take steps towards new relations with India. Now it will be interesting to see how both the countries shape this new hope in the coming months.
