While responding to a question about his upcoming Pakistan visit in his Twitter account External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that, he is going to Pakistan only for SCO meeting, there will be no talks about India-Pakistan relation. On October 5 speaking to the floor of the Indian Parliament, Jaishankar explained his trip is for the multilateral meeting and he is going in order fulfill the functions of an SCO member.
Jaishankar’s is the first such visit by an Indian external affairs minister to Pakistan within the last nine years after Sushma Swaraj visited Pakistan in 2015 for an Afghanistan conference. But Jaishankar categorically ruled out that there would be no focus on India-Pakistan relations during his visit. He retorted, “Oh no, I’m a polite man and a gentleman so I will respect the etiquette.”
Pakistan is ready to welcome the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) on October 15 and 16. About regional cooperation, Jaishankar singled out Pakistan for not letting SAARC function properly, pointing to cross-border terrorism that has sabotaged the organization’s meetings.
The relations between India and Pakistan have been tense Tes since the Uri attack in September 2016 in which India said there can be no talks unless Pakistan stops supporting terror. At the same time, PTI party Pakistan invited Jaishankar for its protests with an intention to display its strength in Pakistani democracy.
