Pakistan's Sharif seeks to ease mistrust with India
Source: Agencies |
May 14, 2013, Tuesday
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NAWAZ Sharif, poised to become prime minister for a third time after a decisive victory in Pakistan's election, said yesterday the mistrust that has long dogged relations with India must be tackled.
Sharif said he had a "long chat" with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday and each man extended an invitation to the other to visit.
Asked by an Indian journalist if he would invite Singh for his swearing-in as prime minister, he said: "I will be very happy to extend that invitation."
"There are fears on your side, there are fears on our side," Sharif added during a news conference at his home on the outskirts of Lahore. "We have to seriously address this."
Sharif's power base is Pakistan's most prosperous province Punjab, which sits across the border from an Indian state that shares the same name. A free-marketeer, he wants to see trade between the two countries unshackled, and he has a history of making conciliatory gestures towards New Delhi.
Sharif's return to power 14 years later has raised concern that he will again cross swords with the military, which has long controlled foreign and security policies.
But Sharif said as prime minister he would ensure that the military and the civilian government work together on the myriad problems facing the country.
Sharif said his Pakistan Muslim League won enough of the 272 National Assembly seats contested in the election to rule on its own, but suggested he was open to allies joining his government.
"I am not against any coalition. But as far as Islamabad is concerned, we are ourselves in a position to form our own government," Sharif said. "All those who share our vision, we will be happy to work with them."
Sharif inherits a host of challenges from the government led for the past five years by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which failed to tackle corruption, poverty and a Taliban insurgency.
Another bailout from the International Monetary Fund to avoid a new balance of payments crisis is seen as inevitable. Sharif has suggested that he would be willing to implement politically sensitive reforms to secure an IMF lifeline.
He has picked senator Ishaq Dar as his finance minister in the new cabinet.
Dar, who served as finance minister in a previous Sharif cabinet in the 1990s, has said he plans to push provincial governments to collect agricultural taxes, a policy that could set him on a collision course with some of the Pakistan Muslim League's wealthy backers.
Sharif said yesterday Pakistan and the US have "good relations" and "need to listen to each other."
Asked about US drone strikes against militants on Pakistani soil, he referred to it as a "challenge" to sovereignty. "We will sit with our American friends and talk to them about this issue," he said.
Sharif said he had a "long chat" with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday and each man extended an invitation to the other to visit.
Asked by an Indian journalist if he would invite Singh for his swearing-in as prime minister, he said: "I will be very happy to extend that invitation."
"There are fears on your side, there are fears on our side," Sharif added during a news conference at his home on the outskirts of Lahore. "We have to seriously address this."
Sharif's power base is Pakistan's most prosperous province Punjab, which sits across the border from an Indian state that shares the same name. A free-marketeer, he wants to see trade between the two countries unshackled, and he has a history of making conciliatory gestures towards New Delhi.
Sharif's return to power 14 years later has raised concern that he will again cross swords with the military, which has long controlled foreign and security policies.
But Sharif said as prime minister he would ensure that the military and the civilian government work together on the myriad problems facing the country.
Sharif said his Pakistan Muslim League won enough of the 272 National Assembly seats contested in the election to rule on its own, but suggested he was open to allies joining his government.
"I am not against any coalition. But as far as Islamabad is concerned, we are ourselves in a position to form our own government," Sharif said. "All those who share our vision, we will be happy to work with them."
Sharif inherits a host of challenges from the government led for the past five years by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which failed to tackle corruption, poverty and a Taliban insurgency.
Another bailout from the International Monetary Fund to avoid a new balance of payments crisis is seen as inevitable. Sharif has suggested that he would be willing to implement politically sensitive reforms to secure an IMF lifeline.
He has picked senator Ishaq Dar as his finance minister in the new cabinet.
Dar, who served as finance minister in a previous Sharif cabinet in the 1990s, has said he plans to push provincial governments to collect agricultural taxes, a policy that could set him on a collision course with some of the Pakistan Muslim League's wealthy backers.
Sharif said yesterday Pakistan and the US have "good relations" and "need to listen to each other."
Asked about US drone strikes against militants on Pakistani soil, he referred to it as a "challenge" to sovereignty. "We will sit with our American friends and talk to them about this issue," he said.
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