S in Pakistan. Jaishankar.
– Photo: PTI
Expansion
External Affairs Minister S. To attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) conference. Jaishankar has reached Islamabad, Pakistan on Tuesday. This is the first visit by an Indian Foreign Minister to Pakistan after nine years. Just hours after Jaishankar’s arrival in Pakistan, Pakistan has quietly expressed its desire to hold a bilateral meeting with India. Pakistan Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that it is for India to decide whether it wants to hold bilateral meetings with Pakistan on the sidelines of the conference or not.
Expressed desire for bilateral meeting
Responding to a question on whether Pakistan would like to propose a bilateral meeting between the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan, Pakistan Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that as the host of the SCO meeting, Islamabad will do what the guests want. We can’t offer. We have to follow the directions of the guests. If the guests want a bilateral meeting, we will certainly be very happy. Ahsan Iqbal further said that as hosts we cannot really put pressure on anyone whether they want a bilateral meeting or not.
Both sides have refused to hold any meeting other than the summit
Let us tell you that before this both India and Pakistan had refused any meeting other than the SCO conference. At the same time, when asked during the press conference whether Pakistan would like to restore trade relations with India or not, Iqbal said that both the sides should work according to the Lahore Agreement. He further said that if we follow the Lahore Agreement, there will be no problem which cannot be solved together.
Jaishankar welcomed on the red carpet
Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan is being seen as a positive step for India in Islamabad. Pakistan is organizing the SCO summit on 15 and 16 October this year. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar was welcomed on the red carpet in Pakistan. It is noteworthy that in the last nine years, relations between the two countries have remained cold on the issues of Kashmir and cross-border terrorism. In such a situation, a visit to Pakistan by any Indian minister remained a distant dream.
Let us tell you that the last External Affairs Minister to go to Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj. She had reached Islamabad in December 2015 to participate in a conference on Afghanistan.