Amid the ongoing tension between Pakistan and Bangladesh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will arrive in Pakistan on Tuesday to attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). This will be the first high-level visit from India in many years. Soon after arriving in Islamabad, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is likely to attend a banquet hosted by Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to welcome the representatives of the SCO member countries.

Indian Foreign Minister's visit to Pakistan after 9 years

Both sides have already ruled out any bilateral talks between Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar on the sidelines of the SCO Heads of Government Summit. This will be the first time in nearly nine years that India's foreign minister will visit Pakistan, even as relations between the two neighbours have been frosty over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

SCO meeting on 15-16 October

According to the information, Jaishankar will be in Pakistan for less than 24 hours. Pakistan is hosting the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting on 15 and 16 October. 

Sushma Swaraj went to Pakistan in 2015

The last Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj. She went to Islamabad in December 2015 to attend a conference on Afghanistan. In August, Pakistan invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the SCO summit. Jaishankar's visit to Pakistan is important as it is being seen as an important decision of the Indian government.

Cross border terrorism cannot be ignored

In his recent address at an event, Jaishankar said, "Like any neighbour, India would certainly like to have good relations with Pakistan. But this cannot happen by ignoring cross-border terrorism and maintaining wishful thinking."

There has been a rift in relations since the Pulwama attack

Let us tell you that relations between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after Indian warplanes attacked a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot, Pakistan in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack. Relations deteriorated further after India announced on August 5, 2019 the withdrawal of special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and division of the state into two union territories.

Pakistan got more angry after the removal of Article 370

Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with India after the abrogation of Article 370. India has maintained that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan, while insisting that the onus is on Islamabad to create an environment free of terror and hostility for such engagement.

Bilawal Bhutto came to India in 2023

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the then Foreign Minister of Pakistan, visited India in May 2023 to attend an in-person meeting of foreign ministers of SCO countries in Goa. This was the first visit of a Pakistani foreign minister to India after nearly 12 years.