Making a first official visit to Pakistan after 9 years, external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar is set to visit Pakistan later this month to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) ‘Heads of Government’ summit.
This marks Jaishankar’s first visit to Pakistan as India’s Foreign Minister and the first official visit by an Indian Foreign Minister to Islamabad in nine years.
Confirming the development, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said “EAM Jaishankar will head the Indian delegation to Pakistan for the SCO summit, scheduled for October 15th and 16th in Islamabad.”
When asked about the possibility of a bilateral meeting between India and Pakistan, the MEA responded, “Closer to the event, we will share details of EAM Jaishankar’s plans.”
The last Indian Foreign Minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj, who led the Indian delegation at the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process, which was held in Islamabad on December 8-9, 2015.
Meanwhile, India-Pakistan relations have been strained since the 2016 Uri terror attack, with India asserting that any dialogue with Pakistan can only happen if it ceases support for terrorism.
The last significant visit from India was in August 2016, when then Home Minister Rajnath Singh attended the SAARC Interior Ministers’ meeting in Islamabad.
Additionally, in 2018, Union Ministers Harpreet Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri attended the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the Kartarpur Corridor.
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