FILE PHOTO: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif receives the Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, at the venue of the 23rd Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on the Council of Heads of Government Meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan October 16, 2024. Press Information Department (PID)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has called for renewed efforts to mend ties with India. He described External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s recent visit to Islamabad for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting as a “good opening” and an opportunity for both nations to move beyond their troubled history.

Nawaz Sharif urges India and Pakistan to move forward as good neighbors, following Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar’s visit to Islamabad. He emphasizes the importance of resuming dialogue and trade ties,

Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister of Pakistan, said he was not pleased by the ‘long pause’ in the relationship between the two countries.

The ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after India's warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack.

Former Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif urged India and Pakistan to move beyond historical conflicts to build better future relations, praising Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar's visit to Islamabad. He emphasised the need for dialogue,

He said former Pakistan PM Imran Khan used words that destroyed the relationship. As leaders of two countries and neighbours, we should not even think let alone utter such words.

Nawaz Sharif, who doesn’t hold any position in the Pakistan government, talked to Indian journalists and urged both sides to ‘now move forward’.