External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is on a visit to Pakistan these days to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting. This is the first visit of any Foreign Minister of India after almost 9 years. He attended a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the delegates on Tuesday evening. When Jaishankar reached the Prime Minister's residence for dinner, Shahbaz Sharif welcomed him. He extended his hand and shook hands for several seconds. Let us tell you that this was a rare occasion when Jaishankar publicly shook hands with a Pakistani leader. He had welcomed his then counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with Namaste at the Goa SCO meeting last year.
During his 24-hour stay in Islamabad, Jaishankar is neither scheduled to meet Shahbaz separately nor hold a formal bilateral meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who was present at the dinner. After the dinner, Pakistan Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal put the responsibility on India for the bilateral meeting and said that as the host, Pakistan cannot propose such a meeting. Asked about the exchange of greetings between Jaishankar and Shehbaz, he said the time has come for both sides to uphold the Lahore Declaration.
The Pakistan government uploaded a video of Jaishankar's visit to Islamabad for the SCO meeting, saying there would be exciting discussions ahead. However, the chances of a meeting between Jaishankar and Dar are very less. India is unlikely to propose any meeting with Pakistan during Jaishankar's visit.
The coordination between China and Pakistan was clearly visible during this meeting. LED lights are shining to welcome Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang. There are flags of Pakistan and China on the roads. Li, the first Chinese Premier to visit Pakistan in 11 years, was welcomed at the airport by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday.
Jaishankar will attend the sessions on Wednesday. There are high hopes in Islamabad whether his visit will mark a new beginning between the two countries by removing the sourness in relations due to terrorist attacks and the removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier this month, Jaishankar had kept a window open by saying that he was planning for his visit to Pakistan. He had said, “You plan everything you are going to do. You also plan a lot of things that you are not going to do. You also plan for whatever may happen.”
Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, “He is a guest of Pakistan. Pakistan has welcomed all the leaders who have decided to participate in this conference. “Pakistan will show its traditional hospitality to all the guests including the Foreign Minister of India.”
During a conversation with Indian journalists, when Pakistan Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal was asked whether Pakistan was going to propose a meeting between Jaishankar and Pakistani leaders, he said, “We are the hosts, we cannot propose a meeting.” When it comes to pointing fingers both countries have enough ammunition to point fingers at each other and so I think we need to move beyond finger pointing and we need to address the 1.5 billion people living in the region. There is a need to think in terms of more people. The EU is not inactive. I always say to our Indian friends. If there was one fourth part of geography, there would be no problem.
PTI, the party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, opposes this meeting. Pakistan does not want to take any risk. Islamabad has been turned into a cantonment on the eve of the SCO meeting. The streets are full of security personnel. All markets and offices are closed. The government has declared a three-day public holiday in Islamabad. According to the Interior Ministry, Pakistani Army soldiers are responsible for the security of the 'Red Zone' of the capital.
