Foreign Minister Jaishankar’s historic visit to Pakistan to attend SCO Summit

SCO Summit: S Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs, landed in Islamabad on Tuesday to attend a session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). EAM‘s visit to Pakistan produced some unusual images, with Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif welcoming the External Affairs Minister with a polite greeting before the ceremonial dinner for SCO leaders.

Jaishankar was spotted out for a morning stroll on Wednesday, prior of the SCO conference, in a number of intriguing images that have emerged from Islamabad. The Indian minister was seen moving about the Islamabad High Commission’s grounds with his staff.

Shehbaz Sharif, PM of Pakistan, meets with Jaishankar Hours after arriving in the Pakistani capital on what was the first such visit from India in over a decade, amid tense relations between the two neighbors, Jaishankar and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif struck up a conversation at the SCO Dinner.

The Pakistani prime leader threw a banquet supper at his mansion in honor of the participants attending a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) conference, where Jaishankar and Sharif briefly shook hands.

Still, there was no sign of a thaw in the tense relations between the two parties.

Remarkably, those acquainted with the situation said that one of the acts shown at the dinner event was the traditional Indian dancing style known as “Bharatanatyam.”

At the dinner event, the prime minister of Pakistan met every leader of the SCO member states’ delegations. There was a big table for dinner with Sharif and the heads of the SCO delegations.

It’s reported that at the event, Jaishankar also struck up a conversation with Ishaq Dar, the foreign minister of Pakistan.

Pakistan is the host country for the SCO summit

Under heavy security, Pakistan is hosting the SCO conference; the nation’s capital has all but been placed on lockdown. On Wednesday, the major conclave is scheduled to occur.

Earlier, at approximately 3:30 pm (local time), Jaishankar’s plane touched down at the Nur Khan airbase outside of the Pakistani capital, where he was welcomed by high-ranking Pakistani authorities.

India’s foreign minister is visiting Pakistan for the first time in over nine years, despite the tension that has persisted between the two neighbors over the Kashmir dispute and cross-border terrorism that originates in Pakistan.

Leading the Indian delegation to the SCO Summit is Jaishankar

The Indian delegation to the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting on Wednesday will be led by the minister of foreign affairs.

Along with pictures of kids and officials presenting him with flowers at the airport, Jaishankar wrote on ‘X’ that he had “landed in Islamabad to take part in the SCO Council of Heads of Government Meeting.”

Sushma Swaraj was the latest Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan. She had come to Islamabad on December 8 and 9, 2015, to attend the “Heart of Asia” conference on Afghanistan.

Swaraj’s entourage included Jaishankar, who served as India’s foreign secretary at the time.cSwaraj had discussions with her then-counterpart Sartaj Aziz during the visit.

In a joint statement made after the Swaraj-Aziz discussions, both parties declared their intention to initiate a comprehensive bilateral dialogue.

Prior to Jaishankar’s departure for Pakistan on Tuesday, India declared that it is still actively involved in a number of SCO procedures.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, “The SCO CHG meeting is held annually and focuses on the trade and economic agenda of the organization.”

India will be represented at the meeting by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. In a succinct statement released in New Delhi, the country said, “India remains actively engaged in the SCO format, including various mechanisms and initiatives within the SCO framework.”

Any bilateral negotiations between Jaishankar and Dar outside of the SCO meeting have already been ruled out by both parties.

Jaishankar recently said, “Like with any neighbor, India would certainly like to have good relations with Pakistan,” during a speech at an event. However, it cannot occur by ignoring international terrorism and engaging in wishful thinking. It is believed that sending the senior minister demonstrates India’s commitment to the SCO.

Following the Pulwama terror incident in February 2019, India’s airplanes struck a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training center in Balakot, Pakistan, severely straining relations between the two countries.

After India stated on August 5, 2019, that it was splitting the state into two union territories and withdrawing Jammu and Kashmir’s special powers, the relationship between the two countries further worsened.

Following New Delhi’s repeal of Article 370, Pakistan reduced its diplomatic relations with India.

India has always said that it wants to have regular neighborly ties with Pakistan, but it also insists that Islamabad must establish an atmosphere free from hatred and terror in order for these contacts to take place.

In May 2023, Pakistan’s former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari traveled to India to participate in a face-to-face summit of the SCO foreign ministers in Goa. It was the first time in over a decade that a foreign minister from Pakistan has visited India.