Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar
Lahore: Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on Tuesday to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization conference. This will be the first high-level visit from India to Pakistan amid the ongoing tension in relations between the two neighboring countries over the past few years. Upon his arrival in Islamabad, Foreign Minister Jaishankar will attend the welcome banquet hosted by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to welcome the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the officials said. The two sides ruled out holding any bilateral talks between Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Heads of Government Summit.
Indian Foreign Minister visits Pakistan after 9 years
This is the first time after nearly nine years that the Indian Foreign Minister has visited Pakistan, while relations between the two neighbors are still frozen due to the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism from Pakistan. There is information that Jaishankar will remain in Pakistan for less than 24 hours. Pakistan is hosting the meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which will be held on October 15-16. The last Indian External Affairs Minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj. He traveled to Islamabad in December 2015 to attend a conference on Afghanistan. Pakistan had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.
Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan is important
Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan is important because it is seen as an important decision by the Indian side. In his recent speech at an event, Jaishankar said: “Like any neighboring country, India certainly wants better relations with Pakistan.” But this cannot be done by ignoring cross-border terrorism and the desire to do so (end cross-border terrorism). The decision to send a senior minister to this conference reflects India’s commitment to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
India’s position is clear
India insists on its desire to establish normal neighborhood relations with Pakistan, while also emphasizing that it is the responsibility of the neighboring country to create an environment free of terrorism and hostility for such talks. The then Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had visited India in May 2023 to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries in Goa. This was the first visit by a Pakistani foreign minister to India after nearly 12 years. (language)
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