A first high level visit in 9 years ::: Jaishankar, and Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif shake hands .... Sushma Swaraj was last foreign minister to visit Pakistan in 2015

S Jaishankar, Shehbaz Sharif shake hands, exchange greetings in Pakistan

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar landed in Pakistan on Oct 15 to attend the two-day SCO meet. It's the first time in nearly nine years that an Indian foreign minister has visited Pakistan. 

Jaishankar landed at the Nur Khan Airbase where he was received by the Director General South Asia Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ilyas Mehmood Nizami.

Dr Jaishankar landed in Islamabad for the SCO Summit. There is no possibility of any bilateral talks between New Delhi and Islamabad.  

The External Affairs Minister and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met in Islamabad on Tuesday, Oct 15, and shook hands and exchanged greetings during an informal dinner hosted by Sharif. 

Islamabad is hosting the 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). No doubt, Prime Minister Narendra Modi could have attended the meet but he gave it a slip. 

It is for the first time in nearly nine years that an Indian foreign minister has visited Pakistan, even as the ties between the two neighbours remain frosty over cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. 

The last Indian Foreign Minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj. It was in 2015 and paradoxically, Dr Jaishankar had accompanied Sushma as India's foreign secretary. 

 Both India and Pakistan have already ruled out any bilateral talks between Jaishankar and his Pakistan counterpart Ishaq Dar on the sidelines of the SCO heads of government summit.

The leaders from SCO member states attending the summit include Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Belarus Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko, Kazakhstan Prime Mini­ster Olzhas Bektenov, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Tajik Prime Minister Kohir Rasulzoda, Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, Kyrgyzstan’s Chairman of Ministers Cabinet Zhaparov Akylbek, and Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref.

Jaishankar's visit to Pakistan assumes significance as it is seen as a significant decision on India’s behalf. In his recent address at an event, Jaishankar said, "Like with any neighbour, India would certainly like to have good relations with Pakistan. But that cannot happen by overlooking cross-border terrorism and indulging in wishful thinking."  

In his recent address at an event, Jaishankar said, “Like with any neighbour, India would certainly like to have good relations with Pakistan.”

“But that cannot happen by overlooking cross-border terrorism and indulging in wishful thinking.” The decision to send the senior minister is seen as a display of India’s commitment to the SCO.

The ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after India’s warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack.