Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday said he had come with a “message of peace” and hoped the two countries would turn a new page in their bilateral relations since both the Governments had a strong mandate. Sharif was here to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.
Scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Modi on Tuesday, Sharif said he intended to pick up the threads with Modi from where he and then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee parted in 1999.
Sharif managed to build consensus amongst all stakeholders at home to accept Modi’s invitation for the ceremony even as hardliners amongst his own Government and the all-powerful Army were reportedly not in favour of his going to New Delhi.
The important breakthrough came after the Prime Minister’s brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif met Army chief General Raheel Sharif on Friday night for about half-an-hour and conveyed to him the importance of the visit to India for maintaining good relations between the two countries and peace in the region.
Before leaving for New Delhi on Monday, the Pakistan Prime Minister said in lahore he was going there with a “message of peace.” After arriving here with a delegation comprising his Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry among others, Sharif said both Governments have a strong mandate and this could help in “turning a new page in our relations.”
“This is the same BJP for whose Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee I had the greatest of respect. I intend taking up threads from where Vajpayee and I left off in 1999,” he said, adding this was a chance to reach out to each other while noting that no two nations have ever possessed so much cultural and traditional similarities as India and Pakistan.
“Why not turn the similarities into our strength. I very much look forward to meeting Modi. We should remove fears mistrust and misgivings about each other, and both countries should rid the region of instability and security that has plagued it for decades,” he said.
While no breakthrough is expected in the talks between the two Prime Ministers, both the leaders will explore ways to improve ties which saw a downslide over the last few years leading to tension in the region. Sharif is also expected to invite Modi to Pakistan.
New Delhi is likely to urge Pakistan to improve trade and commerce relations by granting Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India besides hastening the slow pace of 26\\11 Mumbai terror attacks, existing terror network in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir(POK) and handing over Dawood Ibrahim to India.
Asked about the expectations from the Sharif-Modi meet, Pakistan Foreign Ministry sources said on Saturday in Islamabad that the two leaders are meeting for the first time and the effort will be to take forward the relationship.
Incidentally, Modi will hold bilateral meetings with all the SAARC leaders on Tuesday including Sri lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom.
Bangladesh was represented by Parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury at the swearing-in ceremony as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was on a visit to Japan. Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam also attended the function. President Pranab Mukherjee hosted a dinner for all the visiting dignitaries after the oath taking ceremony.
External Affairs Ministry officials said here the new Prime Minister will have “short duration bilateral meetings” with all the visiting foreign dignitaries that will also be attended by restricted delegation from each side. During these meets, the leaders are expected to talk about ways to take forward the bilateral ties as also other key common challenges.