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Indian overseas minister S Jaishankar has mentioned that he’ll “behave himself” throughout his upcoming journey to Pakistan, marking the primary go to by a high official to the rival nation in virtually a decade.
New Delhi confirmed that Mr Jaishankar will journey to Islamabad on 15-16 October for the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, or SCO, a transregional grouping led by China, instead of prime minister Narendra Modi.
The go to marks a big second in regional diplomacy as relations between the rival neighbours have remained tense since they gained independence from the British in 1947.
Regardless of intervals of relative peace and normalcy, the animosity has grown through the years with the 2 nations combating a number of wars and incessantly suspending commerce and cultural ties.
Relations have been virtually frozen since India carried out crossborder airstrikes in Pakistan in early 2019, a number of weeks after a automobile bombing killed a minimum of 46 Indian paramilitary personnel within the disputed Himalayan area of Kashmir.
Talking about his maiden go to to Islamabad, Mr Jaishankar emphasised that the agenda is to not deal with bilateral points. “It will likely be for a multilateral occasion. I’m not going there to debate India-Pakistan relations. I’m going there to be member of the SCO,” he mentioned.
“However, you already know, since I’m a courteous and civil individual, I’ll behave myself accordingly.”
He made the remarks on the sidelines of an occasion in New Delhi on Saturday. “I’m scheduled to go to Pakistan in the course of this month for the SCO Summit. Usually, the prime minister would have gone,” he mentioned.
Though Mr Jaishankar downplayed expectations of a dialogue on bilateral relations, the mere presence of Indian and Pakistani leaders in the identical room is prone to appeal to consideration.
Observers see this as a second for cautious optimism as multilateral platforms usually function conduits for behind-the-scenes engagements, even within the absence of formal dialogue.
Michael Kugelman, senior programme affiliate for South Asia on the Woodrow Wilson Worldwide Centre, argued that the importance of the go to for India-Pakistan relations “shouldn’t be ignored”.
“2019 was a disastrous yr for India-Pakistan relations. 2020 introduced the pandemic. 2021 yielded a brand new LoC truce, which has helped maintain ties comparatively steady–a chilly peace–regardless of continued tensions,” he mentioned.
“It’s on this surroundings that Jaishankar’s go to was capable of go ahead.”
The final Indian overseas minister who visited Pakistan was the late Sushma Swaraj. She attended the Coronary heart of Asia Convention in December 2015 and her go to was adopted by Mr Modi’s shock stopover in Lahore the place he met then prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
Pakistan’s then overseas minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited India final yr to attend a SCO ministerial assembly in Goa. He and Mr Jaishankar exchanged heated statements on the foremost occasion and did n0t maintain any bilateral talks.
The SCO was based by China, Russia and 4 Central Asian international locations in 2001 in Shanghai. It has since expanded to incorporate 9 member states in Eurasia. The summit agenda of the SCO is often targeted on points reminiscent of regional safety, counterterrorism, and financial cooperation.
