SCO Summit
India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is set to visit Pakistan this month for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, marking his first visit to the country in nearly a decade.
However, he has clarified that discussions on bilateral relations will not be part of his agenda during this visit.
In response to questions regarding the high level of media interest in his trip, Jaishankar emphasized that his focus would be solely on the multilateral nature of the event, stating, “I am not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations.”
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs officially confirmed Jaishankar’s attendance at the summit, scheduled for October 15-16, but did not disclose whether he would engage in any meetings with Pakistani leaders on the sidelines.
The relationship between India and Pakistan has been fraught with tension over the years, particularly since the two countries downgraded their diplomatic ties in 2019 following India’s unilateral decision to change the special status of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
This move has been a major point of contention between the neighbors, with Islamabad linking any normalization of relations to the restoration of the IIOJK’s special status.
Historically, the relationship has seen periods of thaw, but it has been largely stagnant since the significant diplomatic downgrade.
Earlier this year, Jaishankar acknowledged the need for India to address the longstanding issue of cross-border terrorism but noted that such concerns cannot dictate the “policy of a good neighbor.”
He expressed his intention to act as a “good member” of the SCO, highlighting the importance of maintaining courteous conduct during his visit.
Pakistan currently holds the rotating Chairmanship of the SCO-CHG, which is the organization’s second-highest decision-making body.
In a show of diplomatic engagement, Islamabad extended invitations to all government heads of member states for the upcoming meeting, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This highlights the importance of the summit as a platform for regional cooperation, despite the existing tensions.
Notably, the last significant diplomatic engagement between the two countries occurred in May of last year, when then-Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari visited India to attend a two-day meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers.
This visit marked a significant moment, being the first by a high-ranking Pakistani official to India since former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attended Modi’s swearing-in ceremony in 2014.
Despite the challenging backdrop, there have been some positive developments, such as the agreement to renew the 2003 ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in February 2021.
However, the broader issues continue to pose significant hurdles to any substantive dialogue or normalization of relations between India and Pakistan.
Jaishankar’s upcoming visit to Pakistan will be closely watched, but his clear stance against discussing bilateral ties underscores the ongoing complexities in the relationship.
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