India’s Minister for External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday — the first such visit in nearly a decade — as the 23rd summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is set to commence in the evening.
The SCO comprises China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus — with 16 more countries affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners”.
Pakistan became a full member of the SCO at its 2017 summit in Kazakhstan, which was attended by ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, who recently also expressed hope for reviving ties with India.
In his capacity as the current Chair of the Council of the Heads of Government (CHG), Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will preside over the summit.
State-run PTV showed images of Jaishankar being received by the Director General for South Asia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ilyas Mehmood Nizami, and other Pakistani officials after his plane touched down at the Nur Khan Airbase just before 3:30pm.
The Indian minister has said he would not discuss bilateral relations during his visit.
PPP Chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, while speaking to Geo News, said that according to the rules of the SCO, country representatives cannot talk about bilateral issues during the summit.
“There are other forums where countries can talk about their bilateral matters,” Bhutto-Zardari said.
Jaishankar would “represent India at the meeting”, his foreign ministry said on Tuesday, adding that the country “remains actively engaged in the SCO format”.
“Even though it won’t be a fleeting visit as was previously thought, Jaishankar will likely spend not more than 24 hours in Pakistan before flying back to India,” Times of India reported.
From China, Premier Li Qiang will be attending the summit, with his visit to Pakistan being the first by a Chinese premier in 11 years.
China, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will be represented by their prime ministers while Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref will be attending the summit, the Foreign Office has said.
PM Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene of observer state Mongolia and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov of special guest Turkmenistan will also participate in the meeting.
Around noon today, Kyrgyz premier, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Akylbek Japarov, arrived at the Nur Khan Airbase, where he was received by Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik, PTV News reported.
Shortly after, Belarus PM Roman Golovchenko landed at the Islamabad International Airport, where Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar welcomed him.
Tajik premier Kokhir Rasulzoda also landed at the same airport, where Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan greeted him.
