Diplomatic Snub or Standard Protocol? Pakistan Sends DG South Asia to Welcome Indian FM Jaishankar

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar made headlines as the first senior diplomat from Delhi to visit Pakistan in almost a decade. His arrival in Islamabad on Tuesday, to attend a heads-of-government meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), generated significant attention. However, he was received at the airport by Ilyas Nizami, Director General (DG) of South Asia, rather than any cabinet-level official.

A similar situation had unfolded when Pakistan’s former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited Goa, India, for the SCO summit. There, he was greeted at the airport by an Indian External Affairs Ministry diplomat, instead of a high-ranking official.

Indian journalist Suhasini Haidar described Jaishankar’s visit as a possible “quid pro quo” when responding to Pakistani journalist Munizae Jahangir’s use of the term to refer to these developments.

Jaishankar’s flight landed shortly before 3:20 p.m. at the Nur Khan Airbase, where state television showed him being presented with a bouquet by the Pakistani host delegation, which notably lacked any senior ministers.

India, with just 13 representatives, has the smallest delegation at the summit. Eight members accompanied the Indian foreign minister, while five were already in Pakistan.

In contrast to Jaishankar’s reception, other summit attendees were greeted by cabinet members at the airport. For instance, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif personally welcomed the Russian prime minister upon his arrival later that same Tuesday evening.

According to protocol, it was acceptable for DG South Asia to be sent to receive Jaishankar. However, given the Indian foreign minister’s high-profile status, the reception could be viewed as somewhat understated. Normally, ministers do not attend airport greetings unless the country in question shares especially strong relations with the visiting delegation.

That being said, sending an additional secretary or secretary to the airport could have been a more fitting option. Diplomatic customs generally dictate that a “minister for hospitality” is assigned to visiting heads of state or government, while foreign ministers are typically received by a foreign secretary, additional secretary, or director general. Thus, while DG South Asia Nizami’s presence to welcome Jaishankar was not improper, it might have been anticipated that a more senior official would be dispatched for such a high-level event.

Given the historically strained relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, such developments are not entirely unexpected.

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