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New Delhi: Pakistan has dismissed the possibility of bilateral discussions with India at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, which External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to attend. Jaishankar, leading a delegation to Islamabad next week, has echoed this stance, emphasizing that his visit is for a multilateral event.
This visit is notable as it marks the first by an Indian External Affairs Minister to Pakistan in nine years, the previous one being Sushma Swaraj’s in 2015.
When inquired about Jaishankar’s visit, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch referred to the Minister’s October 5 remarks, where he clarified that the visit was for a multilateral event, not for bilateral talks on India-Pakistan relations, stating these remarks are self-explanatory.
Jaishankar recently affirmed that discussions on India-Pakistan issues were not planned during his Islamabad visit on October 15 and 16.
In a speech, Jaishankar stated, “My upcoming Pakistan visit is solely for the SCO Heads of Government meeting… I do not intend to discuss India-Pakistan relations there. As a committed SCO member, I will, of course, conduct myself with courtesy and civility.”
Relations between India and Pakistan have deteriorated significantly since Islamabad severed diplomatic ties with New Delhi following the revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.
The relationship was already tense after the Indian Air Force’s strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist camp in Balakot, Pakistan, in February 2019, in retaliation for the Pulwama terror attack that claimed the lives of over 40 soldiers.
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