Can Shehbaz Sharif help thaw Pakistan-India ties as Kashmir remains sticking point?

He added Pakistan would not become part of any “great game” and that his government would increase the number of allies, as well as “keep ties with neighbours on the basis of equality”.

Former Indian diplomat Ajay Bisaria told This Week in Asia he was cautiously optimistic there would be progress between both nations in the latter half of the year.

“In the next three months, India will be watching Pakistan carefully. Now the onus is on Shehbaz Sharif to get the army on board and make some new moves towards India,” he said.

Compared with ousted Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, who often made inflammatory remarks against Indian Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi, the Sharif family is perceived to have a more favourable view of New Delhi.

Modi extended congratulations to Shehbaz on social media a day after he was sworn in, while his brother, three-time Pakistani leader Nawaz Sharif, attended the swearing-in ceremony of Modi during his first term in May 2014. In a reciprocal gesture, Modi made a surprise visit to Pakistan in December 2015 and attended the wedding of Sharif’s granddaughter in Lahore.

But Bisaria, who was the India’s high commissioner to Pakistan from 2017 to 2020, noted neither country was a priority for the other at present.

“India is busy with the general election, so they have no interest in the Pakistan relationship for the moment. Pakistan has other problems, including Imran Khan, Afghanistan and US-China ties,” he said. “So both the countries are in no hurry to initiate any relationship.”

Bisaria said one move Pakistan could make was to give India strong assurances on terrorism, as “low-grade terrorism” in the form of drones was emerging, particularly in the Punjab and Kashmir region.

“I think India’s basic