External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar announced on Saturday that he will not engage in discussions with Pakistan during his upcoming visit for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conclave.
“This visit is for a multilateral event, and I’m not going to discuss India-Pakistan relations. My intention is to be a good member of the SCO,” he stated on the sidelines of an event in the national capital. He added, “However, as a courteous and civil individual, I will conduct myself accordingly.”
Jaishankar also remarked on the stagnation of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), explaining that there hasn’t been a meeting in years due to one member allegedly engaging in cross-border terrorism against at least one other SAARC member, if not more. “Terrorism is unacceptable, and as long as one of our neighbors continues this behavior, there cannot be business as usual in SAARC,” he stated, emphasizing that this is why SAARC meetings have not occurred in recent years. He noted, however, that regional activities have not ceased, pointing out increased regional integration in the Indian subcontinent over the past five to six years.
Read More: Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar to Attend SCO Summit in Pakistan
On Friday, India announced that Jaishankar would be traveling to Pakistan to participate in the SCO conclave in mid-October. This will be the first visit by an Indian external affairs minister to Pakistan in nearly nine years, despite the ongoing tensions between the two countries over cross-border terrorism. Pakistan is set to host the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting on October 15 and 16. The last Indian external affairs minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj, who attended an Afghanistan conference in Islamabad in December 2015.
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