Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch confirmed that there are no plans for a bilateral meeting with Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar during the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Islamabad next week.
Baloch made these remarks during a video appearance on Aaj News’ “Rubaroo” on Sunday. Last week, Jaishankar indicated a similar stance, stating, “The visit is for a multilateral event. I’m not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations. I’m going there to be a good member of the SCO.” He also noted his intention to act courteously during the visit.
Pakistan will host the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting on October 15 and 16. Jaishankar’s visit marks the first by an Indian external affairs minister to Pakistan in nearly nine years, despite ongoing tensions over cross-border issues. The last such visit was by Sushma Swaraj in December 2015 for an Afghanistan conference.
Baloch added that preparations for the SCO summit are nearing completion, with national coordinators currently negotiating the final document and agenda.
Former ambassador to the U.S., Sardar Masood, who also appeared on the show, remarked that former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had been more courteous during his visit to India for the SCO summit last year. He expressed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have attended the meeting in Pakistan.
