External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, on October 15 for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. This visit is considered important because it’s the first time in nine years that a senior Indian minister has visited Pakistan. When he landed at Nur Khan airbase, he was welcomed by Pakistani officials, and videos of the arrival have been shared widely on social media.
#WATCH | Islamabad: Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif welcomes EAM Dr S Jaishankar and other SCO Council Heads of Government, to a dinner hosted by him.
EAM is in Pakistan to participate in the 23rd Meeting of SCO Council of Heads of Government.
(Video: ANI; visuals earlier this… pic.twitter.com/dNA5N3hsQ0
— ANI (@ANI) October 15, 2024
Ilyas Mehmood Nizami, the Director General for South Asia at Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, greeted Jaishankar as he landed at Nur Khan Airbase in Islamabad. The video from the welcome is viral on social media where Jaishankar is seen wear shades and walking with Nizami who looks nervous in from of him. Children in traditional outfits greeted him with bouquets of flowers, and a red carpet was rolled out for the guests.
Jaishankar attended a dinner hosted for visiting dignitaries, where he briefly exchanged words and shook hands with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He is set to participate in the SCO summit later today.
It’s important to note that relations between India and Pakistan worsened after the 2019 Pulwama attacks and when India removed the special status of Jammu and Kashmir by scrapping Article 370. India has expressed that it wants normal relations with Pakistan but insists that these should be free of terrorism, hostility, and violence. India has repeatedly criticised Pakistan at international forums for its actions regarding Kashmir, calling it an issue of “internal security.”
In an earlier post on X, S Jaishankar wrote, “Landed in Islamabad to take part in SCO Council of Heads of Government Meeting.”
Landed in Islamabad to take part in SCO Council of Heads of Government Meeting. pic.twitter.com/PQ4IFPZtlp
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) October 15, 2024
S Jaishankar will attend the twenty-third meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of the SCO, which Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will chair as the current chair of the Council.
His arrival on October 15 afternoon follows Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s visit to India last year for a similar SCO meeting, which made him the first senior Pakistani politician to visit India since 2011. Jaishankar’s last visit to Pakistan was in December 2015 when he accompanied then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to the ‘Heart of Asia’ conference on Afghanistan.
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