Tag: M. Ishaq Dar

‘Hope There is a Beginning and an Opening With Jaishankar’s Visit’: Nawaz Sharif

The former Pakistan prime minister said he thought Jaishankar’s visit to Islamabad for the SCO meet was a positive sign.

Lahore: Reaching out to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Thursday (October 17) that Indian external affairs minister S. Jaishankar’s trip to Islamabad to take part in the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was a positive sign and hoped that this would be a stepping stone to better ties.

“This thread should be picked up,” said Sharif to a group of Indian journalists at the office of the chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, on Thursday afternoon.

While Maryam is his daughter, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is his younger brother.

Sharif’s remarks came a day after Jaishankar concluded his two-day visit to Islamabad to attend the SCO council of heads of government summit.

Both India and Pakistan had strenuously stated that bilateral talks would not take place during Jaishankar’s visit.

“This is a start – we hope there is a beginning and an opening with the foreign minister’s visit. Meetings should go ahead, whether it is SAARC or any other occasion, these must not be missed,” Sharif said.

Jaishankar’s visit, which was the first by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in nine years, passed without the typical verbal volleys that have marked Indo-Pakistani ties in recent years.

Pakistani officials said Jaishankar met with his opposite number M. Ishaq Dar during a brief “pull-aside” at a dinner hosted by Shehbaz Sharif at his residence on Tuesday and that they had a longer conversation during a lunch the next day when seated together among other summit participants.

When asked if Jaishankar’s visit could create an opportunity for bilateral talks, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal simply said on Thursday that beyond the SCO meet, Jaishankar’s only bilateral meeting was with Mongolia and that other than this “some pleasantries were exchanged on the sidelines of the meeting, especially during lunch and dinner”.

Nawaz Sharif also said that although Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not attend the SCO summit, it was a good thing that Jaishankar did.

“We would have liked Modi to come, but it was good that Jaishankar came. I have said before that we must pick up the threads of our conversation. We have spent 70 years in this way [fighting] and we should not let this go on for the next 70 years,” Sharif said.

He added: “We [the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PMLN)] have tried too hard to work on this relationship to let it just go this way. Both sides should sit down and discuss how to go forward. We can’t change our neighbours – neither can Pakistan nor can India. We should live like good neighbours.”

Sharif noted that talks had been halted and resumed several times in the past, but that this should not deter attempts to aspire to better relations.

When asked if the reasons for the disruption had been resolved or were no longer relevant, he responded that this was not the time to dwell on the past.

“Don’t go into the past, both sides have complaints about each other. We should bury the past and look to the future and see the potential of our two nations,” the three-time prime minister also said.

Relations between the two countries are currently in a deep freeze, especially after India in August 2019 revoked the autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir. An outraged Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties and snapped trade links in response.

After Modi’s election victory, Sharif attended his swearing-in ceremony in May 2014, which his daughter Maryam reminded the Indian media was a special gesture.

In December 2015, Modi made a sudden, unannounced stop in Lahore, Sharif’s hometown, after departing from Kabul.

“When Modi called me from Kabul and said he wanted to wish me for my birthday, I told him he was very welcome. He came and met my mother. These are not small gestures; they mean something to us, especially in our countries. We should not overlook them,” said Sharif.

However, the brief period of goodwill quickly ended as a series of terror attacks followed, entrenching India’s policy that “terror and talks cannot go together”.

Criticising former Prime Minister Imran Khan, Sharif said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader “used words that destroyed the relationship – as leaders of two countries and neighbours we should not even think let alone utter such words”.

During his interaction, Sharif went back several times in the past to the bus journey of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Lahore in 1999. He revealed that he still watches videos of the historic visit. “Purano ko yaad karke aacha lagta tha [It felt good to reminisce about the old days].”

He recalled that Vajpayee had sent him a message to inquire about whether Pakistan, which had a surplus of power at that time, could supply to India. “I had readily agreed. We have record of that.”

Sharif asserted that “India, Pakistan and the neighbourhood should deal as India’s own states do with each other – trade, industry, electricity”.

“Maybe my thinking is different from others, but I believe we are a potential market for each other. Why should Indian and Pakistani farmers and manufacturers go outside to sell their products? Goods now go from Amritsar to Lahore via Dubai – what are we doing, who is benefitting from this? What should take two hours now takes two weeks,” said the 74-year-old PMLN leader.

A well-known cricket enthusiast, he urged both countries to restore cricketing ties in each other’s soil. “What do we gain by not sending teams to each other’s countries? They play all over the world, but it is not allowed in our two countries.”

When asked if India should send a team for the Champions’ Trophy, he replied, “You’ve spoken what’s in my heart.”

When asked if he would visit India, Sharif replied, “If Pakistan reaches the Asia Cup final, I will definitely be there.”

Sharif’s father was born in Amritsar, India, while his late wife’s family hailed from Lucknow.

Maryam added that she had only visited India once as a young girl. “I received so much love and affection from Indian pilgrims during my visit to Kartarpur – I would love to visit India, especially Punjab.”

Her father chimed in, “Why stop at Punjab? You should visit Himachal, Haryana and other states too.”

In 24 Hours, Two Conversations Between Indian and Pakistani Foreign Ministers in Islamabad

External affairs minister S. Jaishankar’s visit passed without the typical verbal clashes that have marked bilateral relations in recent years.

Islamabad: In the last 24 hours, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar had at least two conversations with his Pakistani counterpart, foreign minister M. Ishaq Dar – once during dinner on Tuesday and again in a more detailed discussion over lunch on Wednesday afternoon, after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit concluded, according to Pakistani officials.

Pakistani officials were visibly relieved, not only because their largest diplomatic event in 27 years – a meeting of the SCO council of heads of government – went smoothly, but also because Jaishankar’s visit passed without the typical verbal clashes that have marked bilateral relations in recent years.

It was the first visit by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in nine years.

Just as Jaishankar left Islamabad, he posted on his X account: “Departing from Islamabad. Thank PM @CMShehbaz, DPM & FM @MIshaqDar50 and the Government of Pakistan for the hospitality and courtesies”.

The post capped a visit that ended on an unusually positive note.

Jaishankar arrived in Islamabad aboard a special flight at 3:30 pm local time on Tuesday (October 15) and, as per the summit’s schedule, attended an informal dinner at Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s residence for SCO participants.

It had been reported that Jaishankar sat at the table with the heads of other delegations, including Sharif, though there was no conversation between them as other guests were seated in between.

Pakistani sources claimed that there was a brief “pull-aside” between Jaishankar and foreign minister Dar lasting around five or ten minutes during the dinner.

They were joined by Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, who also chairs the Pakistan Cricket Board, steering the conversation towards cricket – a mutual interest, as Jaishankar is known to be a keen cricket enthusiast.

According to Pakistani officials, it was suggested during the discussion that restoring cricketing ties could be a potential step toward improving relations.

The next morning, Sharif’s national statement remained strictly focused on the SCO’s agenda. While bilateral disputes are not typically addressed at the SCO, there were also no veiled or indirect references to India regarding unrest within Pakistan or the Kashmir issue in his remarks.

In his speech, Jaishankar emphasised the importance of implementing the SCO’s charter, which addresses combating terrorism, extremism and separatism. He stressed that peace and stability were essential to fostering regional economic integration across borders.

Pakistani sources told The Wire that they did not perceive Jaishankar’s speech as a rebuke, noting that the implementation of the SCO charter is non-controversial and not directed at any single country.

Jaishankar published a post that described the SCO meeting as “productive” and listed eight takeaways from it.

Similarly, Sharif’s speech was positively received across the border, with sources highlighting that both countries refrained from attacking each other, instead making “balanced” statements.

After the summit’s outcome documents were signed, participants were hosted for lunch. Jaishankar and Dar engaged in another extended conversation, initially in the waiting lounge and later during the luncheon.

Officials, however, did not describe this as a “pull-aside”, noting that they were not speaking privately but in the presence of other summit participants. Diplomatic sources indicated that they sat together during lunch, which was significant as this was a change from the original seating arrangement.

Observers noted that expectations are so low that any India-Pakistan encounter that avoids devolving into verbal sparring is viewed as a positive outcome.

Relations between the two countries are currently in a deep freeze, especially after India’s August 2019 constitutional amendment that revoked the autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir. An outraged Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties and snapped trade links in response.

However, ties were already deteriorating prior to that.

The relief over the absence of such clashes was a stark contrast to last year’s SCO foreign ministers’ meeting in Goa, where then-Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s visit was overshadowed by tensions.

At that event, Jaishankar raised the issue of “cross-border terrorism”, prompting Zardari to respond by calling for countries to move beyond “weaponising terrorism for diplomatic point-scoring”.

However, officials from both India and Pakistan have not characterised the visit as a thaw in ties, as relations have deteriorated to the extent that several more steps are needed for normalisation.

Pakistani officials said that the next multilateral event that the Indian and Pakistani leadership will attend together is the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan later this year.