The visit of India's foreign minister to Pakistan earlier this week was a "good beginning" that could lead to a thaw in relations between the two rivals, former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was quoted as saying by Indian media on Friday.

Former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif expressed optimism about foreign minister Jaishankar's visit for the SCO meeting, reminiscing about Narendra Modi's visit in 2015. Sharif criticized Imran Khan for damaging Indo-Pak relations and emphasized moving forward without being hindered by past grievances.

Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister of Pakistan, said he was not pleased by the ‘long pause’ in the relationship between the two countries.

He said former Pakistan PM Imran Khan used words that destroyed the relationship. As leaders of two countries and neighbours, we should not even think let alone utter such words.