Nawaz Sharif wants to end mistrust with India, strengthen ties with US

Pakistan's incoming Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said he wanted to end the mistrust which had long dogged relations with India.

He also pledged to strengthen relations with the United States, but called its drone campaign in Pakistan's tribal region a challenge to national sovereignty.

According to Dawn News, Sharif said he had a 'long chat' with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on Sunday and both of them extended invitation to visit their countries.

Asked by an Indian journalist if he would invite Singh for his swearing-in as prime minister, he said he would be very happy to extend that invitation.

Sharif said that there were serious problems between the two countries that have to be addressed.

He said that he wanted to see trade between the two countries unshackled, as he was a supporter of free market policy.

Sharif's biggest challenges in Pakistan are fixing the shattered economy, ending an appalling energy crisis, coping with poverty and tackling a Taliban insurgency, the report added.