Islamabad: External affairs minister S. Jaishankar arrived at Rawalpindi’s Nur Khan Air Base on Tuesday, October 15, to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting, marking the first visit by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in nine years.
His special flight landed at the air base at 3.30 pm. The Indian minister is scheduled to be in Pakistan for 24 hours.
After his arrival Jaishankar went to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s home to attend an informal dinner for the participants of tomorrow’s SCO council of heads of government meet.
Jaishankar was seen briefly shaking hands with Sharif – who was waiting at his residence to greet attendees – and appeared to offer pleasantries to the Pakistan prime minister, who in turn seemed to nod in agreement. Sharif then went inside.
After the main meeting of the 23rd meeting of the SCO council of heads of government tomorrow, the signing of documents will take place.
Ahead of the visit, both Indian and Pakistani ministers firmly denied any bilateral component to Jaishankar’s time in Islamabad. However, there will inevitably be some exchange of courtesies during the dinner and arrival ceremony.
At Wednesday’s SCO meeting, both Pakistan and India are expected to raise their respective concerns over terrorism, though without direct accusations, as the SCO typically discourages the discussion of bilateral disputes.
A screen at the SCO meeting venue displays visuals of Jaishankar landing in Pakistan today, October 15. Photo: Devirupa Mitra.
Relations between the two countries are in deep freeze right now, especially after India’s August 2019 constitutional amendment that changed the autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir. An outraged Pakistan had downgraded diplomatic ties and snapped trade links.
However, relations had already been deteriorating prior to that. The last visit by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan was in December 2015, when Sushma Swaraj attended the Heart of Asia meeting. Three weeks later, four terrorists infiltrated India’s Pathankot air force base, a significant event that further deepened the decline in relations.
Besides Jaishankar, the leaders attending the SCO summit from member states include Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Belarus Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko, Kazakhstan Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, Tajik Prime Minister Kohir Rasulzoda, Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, Kyrgyzstan’s Chairman of Ministers Cabinet Akylbek Zhaparov and Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref.
