Nawaz Sharif waiting for new Indian leadership: Pakistan daily

, Jan 27: Pakistan Prime Minister

may be waiting for a new leadership in

to emerge, and if it is the BJP, he may hope that he will be able to rekindle his rapport with it in a repeat of 1998, a Pakistani daily said on Monday.

"Ever since the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government has come to power - and even before, that is during its election campaign - moving closer to India has been a goal close to now-premier Nawaz Sharif's heart," The Nation said in its editorial.

The editorial said the inertia over India-Pakistan normalisation would be difficult to break as "unexpected occurrences happen with disappointing regularity".

Nawaz wants to rekindle his rapport with India

"It doesn't help that it's election season in India and an anti-Pakistan rhetoric can help shore up votes," the daily said.

Describing India as a huge market, the daily said: "India's booming economy, it would seem, is the one lifeline he (Sharif) saw and with increasing confidence still sees as the way to give Pakistan's economy a bit of momentum."

"Whether this is another mirage, or a dream, the world and the people of Pakistan and India will have to wait to find out," it added.

IANS