Pakistan new PM Shehbaz Sharif raises Kashmir issue after getting elected

Islamabad, April 12: Pakistan's new PM Shehbaz Sharif said he wants peaceful ties with India but has certain conditions. Following the same stance as his predecessors on India, Sharif said that the Pakistan government under him "will raise the Kashmir issue on every international level."

 

In his inaugural speech in the National Assembly soon after his election, Sharif touched on the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir and said that Pakistan will offer "diplomatic and moral support" to "Kashmiri brothers and sisters" and also bringing up the matter at each global forum.

 

 

"Neighbours are not a matter of choice, it is something we have to live with. Unfortunately, our relations with India could not improve in the past," Sharif said. "We want good relations with India, but peace can not be discussed without resolution of the Kashmir issue," he said. "We will raise the issue of Kashmir on every international platformNe," the newly elected Pakistan PM said.

 

 

Sharif further compared the nations and said that there are economic challenges in both India and Pakistan, including unemployment, healthcare and education, and addressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying, "why do we want to disadvantage our coming generations? Let's decide the Kashmir issue in accordance with the desires of the Kashmiri people, and let's end the conflict on both sides, create employment, progress and happiness."

 

Shehbaz Sharif, President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and former leader of the Opposition, was elected the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan by the National Assembly of the country on Monday following the ouster of Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government after a no-confidence motion late on Saturday.

 

 

Ahead of the voting on Prime Minister's election, PTI legislators resigned en masse from the National Assembly and walked out of the National Assembly after a speech by former Foreign Minister and PTI candidate for the prime ministerial post, Shah Mahmood Qureshi. The younger brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was set to grab the top post after former Prime Minister Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was ousted from power following the no-confidence motion against the regime.

 

On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Shehbaz Sharif who was sworn in as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan. In a post, minutes after the new Pakistan PM took oath, PM Modi took to Twitter and told Shehbaz Sharif to "ensure the well-being and prosperity" of people of both the neighbouring countries.

 

 

"Congratulations to H. E. Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on his election as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. India desires peace and stability in a region free of terror, so that we can focus on our development challenges and ensure the well-being and prosperity of our people," PM Modi tweeted.