New Delhi: Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is anticipated to reach the Pakistani capital on Tuesday (October 15) afternoon, a day ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, though both India and Pakistan have clearly ruled out any possibility of a bilateral meeting.
Jaishankar is set to arrive in Islamabad on Tuesday (Oct 15), marking the first visit by an Indian foreign minister in nine years. As of now, he is expected to attend the summit dinner that evening. The main meeting will take place on Wednesday (October 16).
The last Indian external affairs minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj in December 2015. Just weeks later, on New Year’s Day 2016, terrorists attacked the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, causing a sharp deterioration in relations.
The gathering, which is the second-tier meeting following the heads of state summit, will see the attendance of prime ministers from seven of the nine member states. Iran’s first vice president will also participate.
The Indian Prime Minister has never participated in the annual meeting of the Council of Heads of Government since India became a member in 2017, so Jaishankar’s attendance comes as no surprise.
During a press event highlighting preparations for the summit on Sunday (October 13) evening, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister M Ishaq Dar stated that the country was “ready to extend a warm welcome to the summit participants, including the Indian foreign minister.”
He also confirmed that there is no request for a bilateral meeting. “The Indian foreign minister is visiting Pakistan as the SCO member. We have received no request from the Indian foreign minister for holding the bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif”.
He added only matters related to SCO framework would be discussed by the SCO member states at the multilateral forum.
This echoed the Indian minister’s remarks last week that “he was not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations”.
“I do want to say it will be for a multilateral event. I mean, I’m not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations, I’m going there to be a good member of the SCO. But, you, know, because I’m a courteous and civil person, I will behave myself accordingly,” said Jaishankar.
Jaishankar also stated that he expected there would be much media interest in his visit as “the very nature of the [bilateral] relationship is such”.
Two days later, Pakistan foreign office spokesperson had also referred to Jaishankar’s remarks to illustrate that there will be no bilateral meeting.
“Regarding your question about bilateral meetings, I would like you to refer to the remarks made by the Indian Minister for External Affairs on 5th of October, in which he maintained that his visit was meant for a multilateral event, and not for discussing Pakistan-India relations. These remarks are self-explanatory,” she said.
