Even as relations between the two countries are frosty, India, as the Chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SC0), has invited Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial to participate in the SCO Foreign Ministers’ and Chief Justices’ meetings. However, Pakistan is yet to respond to the invitation extended through the Indian High Commission in Isalamabad recently.
The Foreign Ministers’ conclave is scheduled to take place on May 4-5 in Goa and if Bilawal Bhutto accepts the invitation it will the first such visit by a Pakistan foreign minister to India since 2011.
Then Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar had then visited India. Incidentally, the last Indian external affairs minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj in 2015. Now External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar accompanied her as Foreign Secretary.
India took over the chairmanship of the nine-member grouping last September and will host the key ministerial meetings and summit in Goa in May. New Delhi has also extended the invitation to Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. It will be there second visit to India as both the ministers are expected to take part in G-20 Foreign Ministers’ meet on March 1-2. The invitation to Pakistan comes at a time when its Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last week called for a dialogue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss all contentions issues.
However, Prime Minister’s Office in Islamabad later said till Article 370 is restored in Jammu and Kashmir talks cannot be held.
Moreover, the Indian invitation came days after Bilawal Bhutto’s controversial remarks against Prime Minister Modi in the United Nations session.
The SCO also includes China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Invites have also been sent to the foreign ministers of China and Russia along with the other Central Asian countries.
Iran is the newest member of the organization and, under India’s presidency, will, for the first time, attend the grouping's meeting as a full member. Its last meeting was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
While ties are not normal between India and Pakistan, its officials have visited each other’s country to participate in the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure(RATS)meetings under the aegis of the SCO.
However, Pakistan will not participate in the SCO Film Festival to be held in Mumbai later this month.
While all countries have sent entries, Pakistan is the only country that did not send any film for screening in the group's third such film festival.