India FM to attend SCO summit in Pakistan

Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will travel to Islamabad for the upcoming meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), according to the official announcement made by his office in New Delhi on Friday.

This will be the first visit by any Indian external affairs minister in nine years. Sushma Swaraj was the last Indian foreign minister to have visited Islamabad in December 2015 just ahead of a surprise stopover by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lahore.

Jaishankar will represent India at the two-day SCO meeting of Council of Heads of governments to be held in Islamabad on October 15 and 16. Several leaders from the Eurasian regional forum have already confirmed their participation. Russian and Chinese prime ministers are among the leaders coming to Islamabad for the SCO meeting.

Pakistan had invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the meeting. But both Pakistan and India attend the SCO council of heads of governments at the level of ministers while they send their prime ministers to the heads of states meeting.

Given the current state of relationship, it was unclear whether India would send even Jaishnakar to Pakistan. However, with the official confirmation, it is clear that India doesn't want to leave the important meeting of the SCO only because it is taking place in Islamabad.

Pakistan attended the SCO council of foreign ministers meeting in Goa in May last year. Then Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari travelled to the Indian tourist resort in the first visit by any top Pakistani diplomat after many years.

However, there was no bilateral meeting between India and Pakistan on the sidelines of the SCO meeting in Goa. Instead both the foreign ministers accused each other in separate news conferences.

It is not clear whether this time the two countries will have any bilateral meeting in Islamabad. Indications are that India is not keen and sending the foreign minister explicitly for the SCO meeting.

However, as a host, there may be a possibility of curtsey call between Indian foreign minister and the Pakistani prime minister.

Some observers see the visit of the Indian foreign minister as a change of policy by New Delhi. India has boycotted SAARC meetings in Pakistan.

The Indian external affairs minister recently said New Delhi was open to any possibilities, adding the country would respond to any positive or negative steps from Islamabad.

Jaishankar's visit may be a precursor to the Indian cricket team traveling to Pakistan early next year for the ICC Champions Trophy.

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) has always sought good neighbourly ties with India. PML-N President and three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif congratulated Modi over his re-election.

The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and security alliance, founded in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It has since expanded to include India, Pakistan, and Iran as full members, with Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia as observers, and other countries as dialogue partners. The SCO is often seen as a counterbalance to Western alliances like NATO and plays a significant role in fostering regional cooperation.