Pakistan will not push for a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, when the 13 regional leaders meet later this week in the ancient city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, for the 22nd Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.
The Indian government’s violent and inhumane treatment of Muslims in India and the people of occupied Kashmir is the reason for Pakistan’s stance. According to highly placed sources in the Prime Minister’s House, “Islamabad could consider favorably if New Delhi wants a structured meeting,”. The sources suggested that it was possible for two leaders to cross paths during the summit randomly. Later this week, the Foreign Office will brief on the meetings’ final schedule
Whether Modi would meet privately with Shehbaz Sharif, Xi, or Putin was not mentioned in the Indian government’s announcement on Sunday. India refuses to denounce Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine like China because it buys majority of its weapons from Russia and has increased its imports of Russian oil. Since the clashes in the Indian-occupied areas along the Himalayan border in 2020, India’s relations with China have been tense. Since 2019, Presidents Xi and Modi have not had bilateral discussions. Along with the United States, Japan, and Australia, India is a member of the so-called Quad, primarily regarded as an anti-China alliance.
On September 15 and 16, Samarkand will host the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which includes India, Pakistan, China, Russia, and four Central Asian nations (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan). Sohail Mahmood, the foreign secretary, will reportedly travel with the prime minister to both the SCO summit and the 77th General Assembly summit. As a result, the selection of a new foreign secretary has been postponed because Sohail will retire on the 29th of this month.
