External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to visit Pakistan later this month to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government summit. This marks the first visit by an Indian External Affairs Minister to Pakistan in nine years, following Sushma Swaraj’s visit in 2015.
Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation to the summit, which will take place in Islamabad on October 15 and 16. Jaiswal stressed that the visit is strictly for attending the SCO summit. Earlier in August, Pakistan had extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the same summit.
This decision is seen as significant, given the tense relations between India and Pakistan since the 2019 Pulwama attack, which led to India’s airstrikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot. Relations have further deteriorated after Pakistan opposed India’s abrogation of Article 370, which revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. India has consistently maintained that the issue is an internal matter and has condemned Pakistan’s interference.
Jaishankar, during his recent address to the United Nations General Assembly, took a firm stance against Pakistan’s cross-border terrorism and pointed to its ongoing economic crisis. He remarked that Pakistan’s poor policy choices have had negative repercussions on the region.
The visit underscores India’s commitment to the SCO, which plays a critical role in enhancing regional security and cooperation. The SCO, founded in 2001, is a key international organization with members including China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, along with India and Pakistan, who joined in 2017. India, as the chair in 2023, hosted the SCO summit virtually earlier this year.
Jaishankar’s attendance at the summit reflects India’s active engagement in the bloc and its broader goals of regional cooperation, despite ongoing tensions with Pakistan.
