India has announced that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will travel to Pakistan in mid-October to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conclave. This visit marks the first time in nearly nine years that an Indian external affairs minister will set foot in Pakistan, a reflection of the ongoing frosty relations between the two nations, primarily due to concerns over cross-border terrorism.
Jaishankar clarified on Saturday that he would not engage in bilateral discussions with Pakistan during his visit. "It (visit) will be for a multilateral event. I'm not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations. I'm going there to be a good member of the SCO," he stated at an event in the national capital.
He added, “But, you know, since I’m a courteous and civil person, I will behave myself accordingly.” This statement underscores India's diplomatic approach while maintaining a firm stance on its security concerns.
Jaishankar also took a subtle jab at Pakistan, attributing the stagnation of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to its alleged sponsorship of terrorism. "At the moment SAARC is not moving forward, we haven't had a meeting of SAARC for a very simple reason – there is one member of SAARC who is practising cross-border terrorism at least against one more member of SAARC, maybe more… Terrorism is something which is unacceptable and despite a global view of it if one of our neighbours continues to do it – there cannot be business as usual in SAARC," he remarked.
The minister reaffirmed India's position on engaging with Pakistan, stating that dialogue would only resume once Pakistan ceases its support for terrorism. "That's the reason why the SAARC meeting has not happened in recent years – but it doesn't mean that the regional activities have stopped. In fact, in the last 5-6 years, we have seen far more regional integration in the Indian subcontinent," he noted.
Jaishankar's participation in the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting, scheduled for October 15 and 16 in Islamabad, will be closely monitored, given the delicate dynamics between the two nations. The last Indian external affairs minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj, who attended a conference on Afghanistan in December 2015. The announcement of Jaishankar's visit was made by external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.