Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar, set to participate in a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conclave in Pakistan in mid-October, stated on Saturday that there will be no official discussions during his visit, ruling out the chance of a bilateral meeting between the two nations. Jaishankar further stated that he would “conduct himself properly”.
The visit is to attend a gathering that involves multiple parties. I am not going there to talk about the relationship between India and Pakistan. I am going to participate in the SCO as a responsible member. “I will conduct myself appropriately since I am a considerate and polite individual,” Jaishankar stated.
External Affairs Minister criticized Pakistan for the lack of progress in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Currently, there is no progress in SAARC due to Pakistan’s engagement in cross-border terrorism against India, as mentioned by Jaishankar.
Terrorism is not acceptable, and if one of our neighboring countries continues to engage in it, business cannot continue as usual in SAARC despite global perspectives on the issue. This is why the SAARC meeting has been on hold in recent years, however, it doesn’t indicate a halt in regional activities. He stated that there has been a significant increase in regional integration in the Indian subcontinent over the past five to six years.
At the Sardar Patel lecture on governance hosted by IC Centre for Governance, Jaishankar expressed that Sardar Patel was against involving the United Nations. He had opposed this in the situations involving Junagarh and Hyderabad. He firmly stated that India should not subject its issue to the judgement of other powers. Unfortunately, his warning was ignored by everyone.
The original ‘Jammu & Kashmir question’ was shifted to the India and Pakistan question. He was hesitant to bring the issue to the UN directly due to his trust in Pakistan’s intentions to control the situation instead of following a structured process. Just like any other neighboring country, India desires positive relations with Pakistan, but not at the cost of ignoring cross-border terrorism. According to the External Affairs Minister, we must base our policy on realism, just like Sardar Patel did.
Jaishankar criticized the actions of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s initial Prime Minister, and noted, “India’s dealings with China show a contrast in beliefs between Sardar Patel and Prime Minister Nehru.” The most frequently referenced instance was undoubtedly the well-known correspondence in 1950 regarding this issue.
According to Patel, India had taken steps to reassure China, but the country still viewed us with suspicion, doubt, and possibly some hostility. He pointed out that India’s defense had to focus on two fronts at the same time for the first time. He evaluated that China had clear goals and intentions that influenced how it viewed India in a less friendly manner.
In contrast, Pandit Nehru cautioned against losing our perspective and succumbing to unfounded fears despite China’s claims of friendship. He found it unimaginable that China would embark on what he deemed a risky journey through the Himalayas. He did not do it. Once more, these are the words spoken by him. EAM Jaishankar explained that starting with a misdiagnosis is crucial in government as it leads everything else in the wrong direction.
Pakistan is holding the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting on October 15 and 16, with India stating that S Jaishankar will attend the SCO Summit in Pakistan. India’s foreign minister will be visiting Pakistan for the first time in almost nine years. Sushma Swaraj was the most recent Indian External Affairs Minister to go to Pakistan. In December 2015, she journeyed to Islamabad to participate in a conference focused on Afghanistan.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal revealed that Jaishankar’s trip to Pakistan is solely for participating in the SCO summit. During August, an invitation was extended to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Pakistan to attend the SCO’s Summit.
The significance of Jaishankar’s trip to Pakistan is highlighted as it is viewed as a significant move by the Indian capital. Sending the senior minister is viewed as a demonstration of India’s dedication to the SCO, which has been crucial in enhancing cooperation on regional security.
India’s relationship with Pakistan deteriorated significantly following the deployment of Indian warplanes. Struck a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot, Pakistan in February 2019 following the Pulwama terror attack.
The situation worsened after India announced on August 5, 2019, that it would revoke special privileges for Jammu and Kashmir and split the state into two union territories. Pakistan reduced diplomatic relations with India following New Delhi’s revocation of Article 370. India has consistently expressed its wish for positive relations with Pakistan, but stresses that it is Pakistan’s responsibility to eliminate terrorism and hostility in order to facilitate this.
In May 2023, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who was Pakistan’s Foreign Minister at the time, traveled to India to participate in a face-to-face meeting with the foreign ministers of SCO countries in Goa. A Pakistani foreign minister had not visited India in nearly 12 years prior to this visit.
The meeting of heads of government in the SCO council is the second most important gathering within the organization. The summit of SCO heads of state is the main meeting attended by the Indian prime minister. The SCO, which includes India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is a powerful economic and security alliance that has become one of the biggest cross-regional international groups.
India chaired the SCO in the previous year. The virtual format was used to host the SCO summit in July of last year. India has been an observer country of the SCO since 2005. It achieved full member status within the SCO at the Astana summit in 2017.
India has demonstrated a strong desire to enhance its security cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which primarily focuses on security and defense matters. The SCO was established in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Pakistan and India joined as permanent members in 2017.