Nawaz Sharif wants diplomatic channel to be used to ease tensions between India, Pak: Report
Lahore, Apr 28 (PTI): As Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has not yet condemned the Pahalgam terror attack, local media says he wants diplomatic channel to be used to deescalate tensions between Pakistan and India.
The 75-year-old three-time former premier is the chief of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). His younger brother Shehbaz Sharif is prime minister while his daughter Maryam Nawaz is chief minister of Punjab province.
Neither Nawaz and Maryam have condemned the Pahalgam terror attack nor issued any statement over the incident so far.
However, The Express Tribune newspaper quoting sources in the PML-N said: “Nawaz Sharif wants his government to utilise all the available diplomatic resources to restore peace between the two nuclear armed states. Nawaz is not keen on taking an aggressive position.”
It said that Shehbaz Sharif briefed Nawaz during a meeting in Lahore on Sunday on the decisions taken by the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting in the wake of the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) by India following the Pahalgam terror attack.
“India’s unilateral decision to suspend the water treaty has heightened the risk of a war in the region,” Shehbaz said.
Earlier on his return to Lahore from London, journalists sought Nawaz’s comment on the Pahalgam attack, but he refused.
Opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader and former foreign minister Moonis Elahi lambasted the elder Sharif to keep mum over the Pahalgam incident.
“There has been a mysterious silence of Nawaz Sharif after India suspended the IWT and took other extreme measures against Pakistan. Is Nawaz-Modi interests being above Pakistan’s interests,” he said in a post on X.
On April 22, terrorists opened fire in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam killing 26 people, in the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the attack.
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
