Jaishankar to Attend SCO Meeting in Pakistan

Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's upcoming visit to Pakistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting is generating considerable interest, marking the first such visit by an Indian foreign minister in nearly a decade. While some Indian leaders, like Farooq Abdullah and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, hope for a thaw in India-Pakistan relations, Jaishankar has made it clear that his visit is strictly for the multilateral event and not for bilateral talks. The visit is seen as a commitment to the SCO, a regional bloc focused on security and economic matters, which India and Pakistan joined in 2017. Despite tensions, particularly after India's revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status in 2019, Jaishankar's trip is viewed as a signal of India's readiness to engage in multilateral regional cooperation. The visit could potentially pave the way for future engagement, though any bilateral dialogue would largely depend on Pakistan's actions as the host.