Newly-elected Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that his government wants good relations with India, but added that peace would not be possible without the resolution of the so-called "Kashmir issue".
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.
Sharif further 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.
( With inputs from ANI )
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