Pak under Sharif may improve ties with India: Chinese analysts

Pakistan may improve its ties with India and fine tune its anti-terror strategy under the new government headed by PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif, Chinese analysts have said.
Under Sharif, the relationship between Pakistan and India might also improve, Wang Dehua, head of the South and Central Asian Studies Institute at the Shanghai Institute for International Strategic Studies told state-run Global Times said.
"In 1999, Sharif managed to invite then Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for a historic visit to Pakistan," Wang noted.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrote on his official Twitter page yesterday that he hoped to chart "a new course for the relationship" between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

And Sharif yesterday said that he would be "very happy" to invite Singh to his swearing-in ceremony.
Aside from foreign policies, Sharif will also have to face major domestic challenges including improving economic development and energy security.

"Compared to his predecessors, the advantage for Sharif is that he can create a stronger government as he does not have to form a coalition with major opposition parties," Wang said.
With Sharif return to power the future of Pakistan's strategy for the war against terrorism and its relationship with the US will be on in focus, Fu Xiaoqiang, a professor on South Asian affairs at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the daily.

While Islamabad will continue fighting terrorism and maintain its alliance with Washington, at the same time the new Pakistani leadership is likely to seek more non-military solutions to the issue and place more emphasis on the protection of its core national interests when conducting joint anti-terror operations with other countries, he said.
China welcomed Sharif's victory and its Premier Li Keqiang would be among the first foreign dignitaries to meet Sharif as he would visit Islamabad next week after his visit to India.
Observers believe that Sharif is actually taking a more pragmatic approach regarding Islamist militancy and Pakistan's relationship with the US, which could be seen by the fact that he was less vocal against US drone strikes compared to cricket star Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party leader Imran Khan, Fu said.