Ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif said on Thursday that the SCO summit, which was also attended by an Indian foreign minister in a rare visit, could be a beginning of normalisation of ties between India and Pakistan.
He made the statement in a meeting with a delegation of Indian journalists who came to Pakistan for the coverage of recently concluded Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) moot attended by foreign leaders from 10 countries.
The meeting was also attended by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb.Play Video
Stressing the need to revive cricket diplomacy between the South Asian nations, Nawaz said that the Indian cricket team should visit Pakistan for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
“If you ask the Indian cricket team, they would also suggest playing in Pakistan. Despite they are ready to play, however, those who have power to allow them don’t grant them permission,” he told the journalists.
He said it would have been better had Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the SCO conference in Pakistan, however, the arrival of the neighbouring country’s foreign minister was also a good sign.
Jaishankar, who attended the SCO moot held in Islamabad, was the first foreign minister of the neighbouring country to visit Pakistan in nearly a decade.
While departing from Islamabad after the regional event, Jaishankar thanked PM Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister and his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar and the government for the “hospitality and courtesies”.
In his interaction with the journalists, the three-time former prime minister said although the two c
