The Foreign Office spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, announced on Thursday that Pakistan has extended an invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting. The high-profile event is scheduled to take place in Islamabad on October 15-16 and will bring together the heads of government from SCO member states.
The upcoming SCO meeting will focus on various areas of cooperation, including financial, economic, socio-cultural, and humanitarian issues. Prior to the main event, a ministerial meeting and several rounds of senior officials’ meetings will be held to discuss and prepare for the discussions among the heads of state.
During her weekly press briefing, Baloch confirmed that invitations had been sent out to the leaders of all SCO member countries. “An invitation has also been sent to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi,” she stated, indicating Pakistan’s willingness to engage with its neighboring country on a multilateral platform. She noted that some countries had already confirmed their participation in the event, but did not disclose the details. “It will be informed in due course which country has confirmed,” she added.
When asked about the current state of Pakistan-India relations, Baloch acknowledged that there were challenges, specifically pointing out that “Pakistan does not have direct bilateral trade with India.” Despite the lack of direct trade, the invitation to Modi signals a potential opening for dialogue within the SCO framework, which could serve as a platform for addressing broader regional concerns.
Additionally, the spokesperson provided updates on Pakistan’s diplomatic engagements. Pakistan’s foreign secretary is attending the 50th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) being held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, from August 29 to 30. During the session, the foreign secretary will present Pakistan’s perspectives on various issues, including the situations in Gaza and Jammu and Kashmir. “The foreign secretary will present Pakistan’s perspective on Gaza and Jammu and Kashmir there,” Baloch stated, emphasizing that the discussions will also cover “terrorism and other global issues.”
Baloch expressed Pakistan’s firm stance on international matters, noting that “Pakistan strongly condemned Israel’s bombing of a historic mosque in Khan Younis.” This statement aligns with Pakistan’s broader foreign policy goals of advocating for Muslim causes and denouncing actions perceived as unjust or aggressive.
In a historical context, this invitation comes after former Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s visit to India in May last year for a two-day meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers. He was the first Pakistani foreign minister to visit India in almost 12 years, and he described the trip as a “productive and positive decision,” particularly in light of the Kashmir issue and other bilateral concerns.
