LAHORE, Oct 14: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on Tuesday to participate in a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), marking the first high-level visit from India in nearly nine years amidst ongoing tensions between the two nations.
Upon his arrival in Islamabad, Jaishankar is expected to attend a banquet reception hosted by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for delegates from the SCO member countries.
However, both India and Pakistan have confirmed that no bilateral talks will take place between Jaishankar and Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar during the summit.
Jaishankar’s visit comes at a time when relations between India and Pakistan remain strained over issues related to Kashmir and cross-border terrorism. He is anticipated to spend less than 24 hours in Pakistan.
The SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting will be held on October 15 and 16. The last Indian Foreign Minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj in December 2015 for a conference on Afghanistan.
In August, Pakistan extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the SCO summit. Jaishankar’s trip is viewed as a significant move from India, emphasizing its commitment to the SCO.
In a recent address, Jaishankar expressed India’s desire for good relations with Pakistan but stressed that this cannot come at the expense of ignoring cross-border terrorism.
Relations between the two countries worsened following India’s airstrike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist camp in Balakot in February 2019, which was a response to the Pulwama terror attack. The situation further deteriorated after India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019, leading Pakistan to downgrade diplomatic ties with India.
While India maintains that it seeks normal relations with Pakistan, it insists that Pakistan must foster an environment free of terrorism and hostility to facilitate such engagement.
The last significant visit by a Pakistani official to India occurred in May 2023, when Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended a meeting of SCO foreign ministers in Goa, marking the first visit of a Pakistani foreign minister to India in almost 12 years.
