Islamabad, Nov 25 (IANS): Pakistan hopes that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's participation in the Saarc Summit in Nepal will help reduce Islamabad-New Delhi tensions given that US policies in the region have failed, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Tuesday.

The minister's comments come in the backdrop of Sharif asking US President Barack Obama to take up the Kashmir issue when he visits New Delhi for India's Republic Day celebrations.

Asif told reporters in Islamabad Pakistan wanted good relations with India but Islamabad's desire should not be seen as a weakness.

He said Sharif had expressed his resolve to improve relations with India.

Stating peace in Pakistan and Afghanistan was necessary for prevalence of peace in the whole region, the Pakistan defence minister said without stopping foreign interference in Afghanistan there could be no peace, Geo News reported Tuesday.

He also said Pakistan was hopeful that good relations with India would be restored soon.

Stating that American policies have failed in the region, he called for solutions to problems in the region by regional countries.

The minister told reporters in Islamabad that the region is suffering from the U.S. policies.

"The existence of lone superpower is the main cause of the problems," Xinhua quoted Asif as saying.

He hoped that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's participation in the Saarc summit meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in Kathmandu Nov 26-27 will help in "reduction of tensions" between Pakistan and India.

Although no meeting between Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi is planned on the sidelines of the SAARC summit, officials do not rule out any such interaction.

Saarc comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.