Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar will be in Rawalpindi on Tuesday evening for the SCO Heads of Government meeting. During this visit, he may attend a dinner reception hosted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the delegates. Although there is no possibility of a formal bilateral meeting when the two visiting delegations are at the SCO event, there are expectations that Jaishankar will be able to speak to Prime Minister Sharif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar ahead of the main summit on Wednesday. As per the media, Jaishankar will not spend more than one day in Pakistan before returning to India.
This visit by India’s foreign minister is his first visit to Pakistan in nine years. Earlier, it was assumed that Jaishankar’s visit was to discuss bilateral relations, but as per the information he gave, there is no such thing. However, he wants to perform his duties adequately as a” good” member of the SCO, which comprises India, Pakistan, Russia, China, Iran, and four Central Asian countries. India has been quite professional in maintaining its current tensions with Pakistan, especially issues of terrorism, which are different from the Membership of SCO as it was as important for Indian Security. Another contributing factor has also been Russia, as a group member, which has been a motivating factor for India.
There is no likelihood of a structured bilateral meeting at the moment. Still, there might be an exchange of pleasantries once the leaders meet at the same event, which India seeks from Pakistani leadership. In their statement, Indian officials have stressed that the improvement of the bilateral relations that saw almost no interaction over the past nine years depends on Pakistan. India underlines that any real change in relations implies clear and consistent steps towards terrorism prevention and Pakistan’s decision to downgrade diplomatic cooperation after the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
Check here for the latest updates in Hindi!