External affairs minister S Jaishankar landed in the neighbouring nation, Pakistan, on Tuesday to participate in a key meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Shortly after touching down in Islamabad, India’s foreign minister joined other visiting leaders for an informal dinner hosted by the Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif where he briefly exchanged pleasantries with Sharif.
Visuals on state-run Pakistan Television showed Sharif welcoming Jaishankar as the EAM was entering the venue for the dinner at the Prime Minister’s House.
Jaishankar & Sharif shake hands, speak briefly
At the dinner venue, both Jaishankar and Sharif shook hands and spoke briefly. It was the first formal contact between leaders of the two countries since a similar encounter last year on the margins of the SCO meeting hosted by India in Goa which ended in an acrimonious exchange of statements between Jaishankar and then-Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
EAM Jaishankar to address SCO Summit
Jaishankar, the first Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan in nine years, will address the plenary session of the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting at the Jinnah Convention Centre on Wednesday.
In his address, Jaishankar is expected to reiterate concerns raised by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at past SCO summits over terrorism and extremism in the region, and also talk about connectivity and transit issues.
No planned bilateral between India & Pakistan
Neither India, nor Pakistan have expressed a desire to hold bilateral interaction in Islamabad during Jaishankar’s visit to the neighbouring nation.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch confirmed that no bilateral meetings had been planned between the two countries.
A minister from Sharif’s government, however, struck a positive note, stating that regional cooperation in South Asia should be revived in the manner of past agreements. He also advocated dialogue between India and Pakistan.
“We need to go back to the spirit of the Lahore declaration,” Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said, referring to the 1999 visit of India’s former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee.
“That was the high point between leaderships of both countries, which was achieved by Nawaz Sharif and Atal Behari Vajpayee, and if we revive the spirit of Lahore, I think there is no problem that we cannot solve together,” Ahsan added.
Pakistani leaders calls for restoration of dialogue with India
Amid the ongoing visit of Jaishankar, Pakistan’s former premier Nawaz Sharif and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called for efforts aimed at restoring dialogue between the two neighbouring countries.
“I have always been a supporter of good relations with India… I hope that there is an opportunity to revive our relationship,” Nawaz Sharif, who is also president of the ruling PML-N party, told the media on Tuesday.
He went on to say that it “would have been a great thing if Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi had attended the SCO summit here in Pakistan” before adding that he hoped the two sides “will have an opportunity to sit together in the not-so-distant future.”
Bhutto Zardari, who is not a part of the current Cabinet in Pakistan but his party PPP supports the ruling government, welcomed Jaishankar’s visit to his country.
Bhutto Zardari said that apart from issues such as Kashmir and terrorism, the two sides need to work together to tackle challenges such as climate change.
He further said that India and Pakistan should come together to see what issues they can agree on in the context of terrorism to save lives in both countries.
“We do need to start talking at some point, but we will have to find ways to address our issues over Kashmir on our side and terrorism that India keeps raising on its side,” Bhutto said.
He also suggested a dialogue on climate change between the two “most stressed countries” on the issue.
Last week, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, niece of PM Sharif, also advocated in public remarks for “climate diplomacy” between India and Pakistan to help those affected by global warming and air pollution on both sides of the border.
Ahead of his Pakistan visit, Jaishankar said the focus will be on the SCO meet, and not bilateral issues. “Like with any neighbour, India would certainly like to have good relations with Pakistan. But that cannot happen by overlooking cross-border terrorism and indulging in wishful thinking,” he said.
With inputs from agencies.
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After handshake with Sharif, Jaishankar to address SCO Summit in Pakistan capital
