Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and Pakistan PM Shahbaz Sharif
Amidst the ongoing tension between Pakistan and Bangladesh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will reach Pakistan on Tuesday to attend a conference of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). This will be the first high-level visit from India in many years. Immediately after reaching Islamabad, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar is likely to attend a banquet hosted by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to welcome the representatives of SCO member states.
Indian Foreign Minister’s visit to Pakistan after 9 years
Both sides have already ruled out any bilateral talks between Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar on the sidelines of the SCO Heads of Government Summit. This will be the first time after almost 9 years that the Foreign Minister of India will visit Pakistan. Even though relations between the two neighbors have cooled over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
SCO meeting on 15-16 October
According to the information, Jaishankar will stay in Pakistan for less than 24 hours. Pakistan is hosting the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting on October 15 and 16.
Sushma Swaraj went to Pakistan in 2015
The last Indian Foreign Minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj. She visited Islamabad in December 2015 to attend a conference on Afghanistan. In August, Pakistan had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the SCO summit. Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan is important because it is being seen as an important decision of the Indian government.
Cross border terrorism cannot be ignored
In his recent address at an event, Jaishankar said, ‘Like any neighbour, India would definitely like to have good relations with Pakistan. But this cannot happen by ignoring cross-border terrorism and maintaining wishful thinking.
Crack in relations after Pulwama attack
Let us tell you that in February 2019, in response to the Pulwama terror attack, relations between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after Indian war planes attacked the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot, Pakistan. Relations deteriorated further after India on August 5, 2019 announced the withdrawal of Jammu and Kashmir’s special powers and bifurcation of the state into two union territories.
Pakistan further divided after removal of Article 370
After the abrogation of Article 370, Pakistan reduced diplomatic relations with India. India has been saying that it desires normal neighborly relations with Pakistan, while insisting that the onus lies on Islamabad to create an environment free of terror and hostility for such engagement.
Bilawal Bhutto came to India in 2023
Pakistan’s then Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had visited India in May 2023 to attend an individual meeting of foreign ministers of SCO countries in Goa. This was the first visit of a Pakistani Foreign Minister to India after almost 12 years.
With inputs from PTI
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