Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar stated on Saturday that his upcoming visit to Islamabad is solely for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2024 and not for discussions on "India-Pakistan relations."
Speaking during the Sardar Patel Lecture on Governance organized by the IC Centre for Governance in New Delhi, Jaishankar emphasized that he is traveling to Pakistan to fulfill his role as a “good member of the SCO.”
“Yes, I am scheduled to go to Pakistan in the middle of this month for the meeting of the SCO – the heads of government meeting,” he confirmed. “I expect that there would be a lot of media interest because the very nature of the relationship is such, and I think we will deal with it. But I want to stress that I will be there for a multilateral event; I am not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations,” he underscored.
Jaishankar pointed out that the SCO Summit is taking place in Islamabad this time due to Pakistan being a relatively recent member of the bloc, just like India. “Normally, the Prime Minister attends the high-level meeting of heads of state, which is in line with tradition. It so happens that the meeting is taking place in Pakistan, because, like us, they are a relatively recent member,” he added.