EAM Dr. S Jaishankar in Islamabad for Shanghai Cooperation Summit

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Bula Devi Reports from New Delhi

New Delhi Oct16:- Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday (October 15) for the 23rd Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit scheduled on Wednesday. A brief visit with no bilateral engagements with his Pakistani counterpart on the agenda, Jaishankar’s first trip to the country comes after almost a decade.

The minister is visiting Pakistan with a specific purpose where he will represent India at the meeting. He is likely to be there for less than 24 hours and attend the proceedings of the summit.

“India remains actively engaged in the SCO format, including various mechanisms and initiatives within the SCO framework,” said MEA on Tuesday.

Pakistan is chairing the 23rd meeting of SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG). The SCO CHG meeting is held annually and focuses on trade and economy.

The fact that Jaishankar has embarked on a visit to Pakistan despite a chill between the two countries reflects India’s belief and commitment to remain engaged with multilateral organisations. The minister recently had made it clear that he will not hold bilateral discussions in Islamabad.

India’s position on Pakistan is reflected well in what the External Affairs Minister said at the General Debate of the 79th UN General Assembly in New York on September 28.

Jaishankar said: “Many countries get left behind due to circumstances beyond their control. But some make conscious choices with disastrous consequences.

“A premier example is our neighbour, Pakistan. Unfortunately, their misdeeds affect others as well, especially the neighbourhood.

“When this polity instils such fanaticism among its people, its GDP can only be measured in terms of radicalisation and its exports in the form of terrorism.

“Today, we see the ills it sought to visit on others consume its own society. It can’t blame the world; this is only karma,” Jaishankar said.

“Pakistan’s cross-border terrorism policy will never succeed. And it can have no expectation of impunity. On the contrary, actions will certainly have consequences. The issue to be resolved between us is now only the vacation of illegally occupied Indian territory by Pakistan. And of course the abandonment of Pakistan’s longstanding attachment to terrorism,” he added while speaking at the General Debate.

Tension between the two nuclear nations has been quite high since the Pulwama attack on 14 February 2019 in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. Subsequently, India downgraded Jammu and Kashmir from a state to a Union Territory and abrogated Article 370 on 5 August 2019. There have been several attacks in the past also. For instance, infiltrators attacked the Air Base in Pathankot on 1 January 2016.

Jaishankar’s visit to Islamabad is the first visit by a minister from India following Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s who had gone there to attend a SAARC meeting in August 2016. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had decided against attending the SAARC Summit in November 2016 in the wake of several terror attacks by groups and organisations based in Pakistan. Subsequently, other leaders also decided against attending the Summit and it was cancelled.

Prior to this, then foreign minister Sushma Swaraj visited Islamabad in December 2015, just a few days prior to Modi’s surprise visit to Lahore to attend then prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s granddaughter’s wedding. Yet, talks remained suspended due to terror attacks.

In May 2023, Bilawal, in the capacity as foreign minister of Pakistan, attended SCO meeting in Goa. However, war of words on Kashmir between Bilawal and Jaishankar, albeit through media, also left a bitter taste in the relationship.