Subrahmanyam Jaishankar says he would not discuss bilateral relations when he visits Pakistan this month
Indian FM’s participation in SCO summit a positive sign for bilateral relations: Senator Irfan Siddiqui
NEW DELHI + ISLAMABAD ( WEB NEWS )
India’s Minister for External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Saturday said he would not discuss bilateral relations when he visits Pakistan this month, the first such visit in nearly a decade, for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
“I expect there would be a lot of media interest because of the very nature of the relationship,” Jaishankar said in response to a query at an event in New Delhi. “But I do want to say it will be for a multilateral event. I am not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations,” he added.
“I am going there to be a good member of the SCO but since I am a courteous and civil person, I will behave myself accordingly,” he said.
The Indian foreign ministry confirmed a day ago that Jaishankar will visit Pakistan to participate in the summit on Oct 15-16 but did not say if he would meet any Pakistani leaders on the sidelines.
Indian FM’s participation in SCO summit a positive sign for bilateral relations: Senator Irfan Siddiqui
Parliamentary Party Leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in Senate and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman, Senator Irfanul Haque Siddiqui has termed the announcement of Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit as a positive development for the bilateral relations between Pakistan and India.
In a statement posted on his social media account on platform ‘X’ on Saturday, the senior PML-N leader said the presence of the Indian foreign minister at the summit holds promise for easing tensions between the two neighboring countries. However, Senator Ifran Siddiqui expressed concerns regarding the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party’s approach toward this diplomatic event.
He criticized PTI for extending an invitation to only the Indian foreign minister, among all SCO leaders, to participate in its protest demonstrations. Senator Irfan Siddiqui further remarked that PTI should showcase its ‘remarkable achievements’ by taking the Indian foreign minister to visit more than 200 destroyed defense installations and memorials of martyrs, hinting at recent unrest, to solidify the ‘eternal ties’ between PTI and India.