Pakistan will invite Heads of State of all member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) for the summit in Islamabad next year, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry has said.
The statement was issued in response to a query by a journalist on whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be invited for the high-level meeting next year.The development comes against the backdrop of unprecedented strains in bilateral ties after a brief but intense conflict last May.
In the statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Pakistan said “all member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will be invited at the level of the Heads of State or Government, should they wish to attend at the level of the Head of Government.”
“Invitations will obviously be extended, and this is an obligation on the part of Pakistan as the host. We will invite all Heads of States and Government to the Summit meeting,” it said.
Did Jaishankar request a meeting with Pakistan?
{{/usCountry}}“Invitations will obviously be extended, and this is an obligation on the part of Pakistan as the host. We will invite all Heads of States and Government to the Summit meeting,” it said.
Did Jaishankar request a meeting with Pakistan?
{{/usCountry}}The ministry was also asked if External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had requested a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, when the two leaders attended the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting under the ASEAN framework.
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“I am not aware of any meeting request from India on the sidelines of the ARF in Manila. I cannot comment,” the Pakistan ministry said.
India-Pak ties at all-time low
India and Pakistan have not had any sustained talks since New Delhi called off the composite dialogue in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which were carried out by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and killed 166 people.
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The political leadership on both sides have attempted to resume contacts, though these efforts were derailed by a string of terror attacks blamed on Pakistan-based groups, and India responded to the Pahalgam terror attack last year with several punitive economic and diplomatic measures, including the four-day military strikes on terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960.