Nawaz desires Singh at oath-taking
Lahore - Incoming prime minister Nawaz Sharif has reached out to India and the United States, pledging to strengthen relations after his thumping victory in landmark elections,
The election-winner invited Indian Premier Manmohan Singh to his oath-taking ceremony and said he also wanted to strengthen fractious ties with the US but warned Washington must take seriously their concerns about drone strikes.
Nawaz, who won an unprecedented third term, also picked veteran Ishaq Dar as finance minister to serve in his cabinet.
Speaking to foreign correspondents at his family’s sprawling Raiwind estate, Nawaz Sharif called upon Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI), which is protesting against alleged ‘massive’ rigging in the polls, to respect the mandate of the people and accept the results of the elections.
He said he would be “very happy” to invite Singh to his swearing-in ceremony. “I will be very happy to extend that invitation. If they come it will be a great pleasure,” he said when asked by an Indian journalist if he would consider inviting Singh.
“I had a call from him yesterday. We had a long chat on the phone and then he extended an invitation to me and I extended an invitation to him.
“We will be very happy to invite him, whether he will come or not is a different issue but I hope that he will visit Pakistan soon,” he added.
India’s premier on Sunday congratulated Nawaz on his victory in the elections on Saturday and expressed the hope for better relations. Singh said he hoped to work with his incoming Pakistani counterpart to chart “a new course” and invited Nawaz to visit India.
About future relations with the Washington, the PML-N chief said the US would have Pakistan’s “full support” as it withdraws the bulk of its forces from Afghanistan by the end of next year. But he said he would take up the issue of drone strikes with Washington.
“Drones are indeed a challenge to our sovereignty. Of course we have taken this matter up very seriously and also spoken to the Americans during our meetings… This is a very important issue and our concern must be understood properly. We will sit with our American friends and we will certainly talk to them on this issue.”
Pak-US relations reached rock bottom when Pakistan closed overland Nato supply lines for six months in response to a botched US air raid that killed 24 border guards. Ties have warmed again in recent months and Nawaz said he would work to see that this continued.
“I think we have good relations with the United States of America. We certainly have to listen to each other,” he said. “If there are concerns on either side I think we should address those concerns and strengthen this relationship.”
To a question about government formation, Nawaz said, “I am not against any coalition. But as far as Islamabad is concerned we are ourselves in a position to form our own government… All those who share our vision we will be happy to work with them.”
The PML-N will inherit a host of challenges from the PPP, which failed to tackle corruption, poverty, and a Taliban insurgency during its rule over the past five years.
Nawaz has suggested he would be willing to implement politically sensitive reforms in order to secure critical aid from International Monetary Fund to avoid another balance of payments crisis.
He has picked Senator Ishaq Dar as his finance minister in the new cabinet, spokesman Siddiqul Farooq said. Dar had “all the facts and figures at his fingertips” and will in June present the budget for the next financial year, he added.
Dar has said he plans to push government to collect agricultural taxes, a policy that could set him on a collision course with some of the N’s wealthy backers.