Change in Pakistan approach toward India unlikely, says former diplomat

WASHINGTON: Even as there is a sense of positivity over Indo-Pak ties after the outcome of Pakistan polls, a former Pakistani diplomat believes a regime change is unlikely to bring any substantial shift in Islamabad's approach.

Former Pakistan Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani noted this while giving an analysis of the post-election scenario in Pakistan.

"We will have a kind of a hug-hug, embrace-embrace, but no substantial changed attitude towards India," he said.

According to the reports in Pakistani media, Sharif has invited Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his swearing in ceremony.

"I think Nawaz Sharif will move to have relatively better relations with India, at least at a superficial level, cricket matches, cultural exchanges, speaking to Punjabis in Punjabi, on the Indian side," Haqqani said in response to a question.

"But strategically, will he say, let's put Kashmir on the back burner and move forward? I don't see that happening. Will he say that we need to actually implement the Most Favoured Nation agreement that the PPP reached, which has been held in a sort of limbo by the military?" Haqqani questioned.

The former diplomat said developments like setting up of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Kargil war have always contradicted Sharif's intentions of having good ties with India.