Islamabad, May 9: As tensions rise between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack and India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has stepped in to counsel his brother, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on pursuing a diplomatic path to defuse the crisis, The Express Tribune reported.
In response to India’s decision to halt the IWT, Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan from London to support his brother during this critical time. Upon his arrival, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif briefed Nawaz on the outcomes of the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting held in the aftermath of the treaty’s suspension.
According to The Express Tribune, Nawaz Sharif advised the government to prioritize diplomacy over confrontation, urging the PML-N-led coalition to use all available diplomatic channels to restore peace between the two nuclear-armed nations. He emphasized that he was not in favor of adopting an aggressive stance.
Nawaz Sharif has long advocated for improved ties with India. In 2023, he remarked that his opposition to the Kargil conflict played a role in the fall of his government in 1999. Speaking to The News International, he questioned why his governments were overthrown in both 1993 and 1999, implying that political consequences followed his stance against conflict.
“The PML-N has always delivered, yet our governments have been repeatedly removed from power,” he said. “I want to know—was it because we opposed the Kargil war?”
(With agency inputs)
