Signs Of Thaw? EAM Jaishankar To Travel To Pakistan For SCO Summit

File Photo of External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar. (ANI)

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to lead the Indian delegation to Pakistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, the ministry of External Affairs said on Friday. The announcement was made by external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal Friday.

"EAM Jaishankar will lead a delegation to Pakistan for the SCO summit, which will be held in Islamabad on 15th and 16th October," MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a briefing.

MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, "EAM Jaishankar will lead a delegation to Pakistan for the SCO summit which will be held in Islamabad on 15th and 16th October..." pic.twitter.com/JPotcj1VMq

— ANI (@ANI) October 4, 2024

Pakistan is hosting the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting in mid-October. EAM spokesperson Jaiswal made it clear that, at this point, there are no details available on any bilateral engagements that EAM Jaishankar may have during his Pakistan visit.

As part of the formal process, Pakistan had extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the meeting. The EAM's participation in the meeting comes as no surprise as the SCO meeting does not require heads of states to participate and Indian ministerial delegations have been attending them in the past.

"Extending an invitation to PM Modi and all other member states is a compulsive protocol any host country follows. Pakistan has done the same. I do not see this as a political stunt. However, I do not see PM Modi landing in Islamabad," political analyst Kamran Yousaf had told IANS in August, this year.

Last year, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had visited India for the SCO Foreign Minister's meeting.

The SCO council of heads of government level is the second-highest body in the grouping. Since 2017, India has been represented at the level of EAM or Defence Minister. The EAM participated in Bishkek last year.

In 2020, when India hosted the SCO meeting virtually, Pakistan was represented by Pakistan’s Parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs. The SCO comprises India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It is an economic and security bloc that has emerged as one of the largest trans-regional international organisations.