External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced on Saturday that he will not engage in discussions with Pakistan during his forthcoming visit to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conclave. Speaking at an event in New Delhi, Jaishankar emphasized that his trip is solely for a multilateral event, stating, “I’m not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations. I’m going there to be a good member of the SCO.” He added, “But, you know, since I’m a courteous and civil person, I will behave myself accordingly.”
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In a subtle critique of Pakistan, Jaishankar attributed the stagnation of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) initiative to cross-border terrorism. “At the moment, SAARC is not moving forward, and we haven’t had a meeting of SAARC for a very simple reason there is one member of SAARC that is practicing cross-border terrorism against at least one other member, if not more,” he stated. He condemned terrorism as “unacceptable,” arguing that there cannot be a “business as usual” approach in SAARC while one member continues to support such activities. He noted that despite these challenges, regional integration in the Indian subcontinent has progressed significantly in the past five to six years.
India has firmly stated that it will not engage in bilateral discussions with Pakistan until it ceases its support for cross-border terrorism. Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan marks the first time in nearly nine years that an Indian external affairs minister will travel to the country, amidst ongoing tensions related to terrorism. The SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting is scheduled to take place on October 15 and 16, with Pakistan hosting the event. The last visit by an Indian external affairs minister to Pakistan was in December 2015 when Sushma Swaraj attended a conference on Afghanistan.
The announcement of Jaishankar’s participation was made by external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, who confirmed that the minister will lead India’s delegation to the summit in Islamabad.