S Jaishankar, who is in Pakistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization or SCO summit hosted by Islamabad, today held a brief interaction with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the official dinner hosted for all the summit attendees.
The two leaders shook hands and exchanged courtesy as Mr Sharif welcomed Mr Jaishankar for the official dinner for SCO leaders. During the conversation that lasted less than twenty seconds, some worldly things were discussed.
Relations between India and Pakistan have become almost non-existent over the past decade as Pakistan-based terrorists targeted Indian military installations in a series of terrorist attacks in 2015 and 2016. India, which has long aimed for peace and stability in the region, has made it clear to Pakistan that “terrorism and dialogue cannot go together”, and “dialogue and diplomacy can proceed only in a terrorism-free environment.” Is.”
No communication for almost a decade
Mr Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan is the first by an Indian minister in almost ten years. The last visit by an Indian foreign minister was when Mr Jaishankar’s predecessor Sushma Swaraj visited Islamabad for a conference on Afghanistan. Mr Jaishankar, who was the Foreign Secretary at the time, accompanied the then minister on his official visit.
Soon after Sushma Swaraj’s visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the initiative to push for peace in the region and made a surprise visit to then Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at his ancestral home. But despite India’s sincere efforts, the talks were once again derailed due to a series of terrorist attacks on Indian soil by terrorists sheltering in Pakistan.
Before reaching Islamabad, Mr Jaishankar told a press conference in New Delhi that his visit to the neighboring country was only for the SCO summit and there would be no bilateral talks with Islamabad.
, Watch: NDTV World Summit on 21-22 October. Get all the details here.
Mr Jaishankar had said, “Like any neighbour, India would certainly like to have good relations with Pakistan, but this cannot happen by ignoring cross-border terrorism and indulging in wishful thinking.” The decision to send the senior minister to Pakistan, which is the host country of the SCO summit this time, is seen as a demonstration of India’s commitment to the forum as a whole.
Pakistan is hosting the two-day SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) summit on October 15 and 16. “The SCO CHG meeting is held annually and focuses on the trade and economic agenda of the organisation,” the Ministry of External Affairs said. Foreign Ministry) had said.