Indian FM lands in rare visit to Pakistan for SCO summit

Last time a minister visited Pakistan was in 2015 when Sushma Swaraj attended conference

ISLAMABAD: Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, state TV showed, the first top Delhi diplomat to visit in nearly a decade.

PTV showed images of Jaishankar being greeted by Pakistani officials on the runway after his plane touched down near the capital Islamabad just before 3:30pm (1030 GMT).

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Both sides have said no bilateral talks are planned, and Jaishankar’s visit would strictly follow the SCO schedule.

The SCO comprises China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus - with 16 more countries affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners”.

The SCO is sometimes touted as an alternative to the Western-dominated NATO military alliance.

“India remains actively engaged in the SCO format,” India’s foreign ministry said.

While the SCO has a mandate to discuss security, the Islamabad summit is due to focus on trade, humanitarian and cultural issues.

The last time an Indian foreign minister visited Pakistan was in 2015 when Sushma Swaraj attended a conference on Afghanistan.

The same year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise visit to Lahore to meet his then-counterpart Nawaz Sharif.