Jaishankar says he is not going to Islamabad to discuss “India-Pakistan relations” but to attend the SCO Summit 2024…reports Asian Lite News
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday that he is not going to Islamabad to discuss “India-Pakistan relations” but his visit is all about the multilateral event, which is the SCO Summit 2024, taking place in the neighboring country.
The minister said that he is traveling to Pakistan only to be a “good member of the SCO”.
“Yes, I am scheduled to go to Pakistan in the middle of this month and that is for the meeting of the SCO –the heads of government meeting,” Jaishankar said while delivering the Sardar Patel Lecture on Governance organized by IC Centre for Governance in New Delhi.
“I expect that there would be a lot of media interest because the very nature of the relationship is such and I think we will deal with it. But I do want to say it will be there for a multilateral event, I mean I am not going there to discuss India-Pakista relations. I am going there to be a good member of the SCO. Since I am a courteous and civil person, I will behave myself accordingly,” he underlined.
The External Affairs Minister highlighted that the SCO Summit is taking place in Islamabad this time, because, similar to India, Pakistan too, is a recent member of the bloc.
“Normally the Prime Minister goes to the high-level meeting, the heads of state, that’s in line with the tradition. It so happens that the meeting is taking place in Pakistan, because, like us, they are a relatively recent member,” Jaishankar added.
On being asked about his planning before he heads to the summit, the EAM stated, “Of course, I am planning for it. In my business, you plan for everything that you are going to do, and for a lot of things that you are not going to do, and which could happen also, you plan for that as well.”
On Friday, the MEA said that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be traveling to Pakistan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit scheduled to take place in October.
On being asked about India’s participation in the upcoming SCO Summit, the MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “EAM Jaishankar will lead a delegation to Pakistan to participate in the SCO summit which will be held in Islamabad on October 15-16.”
Earlier in August, India received an invitation from Pakistan for the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) in-person meeting.
In May 2023, Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited India for the SCO meeting in Goa. This was the first visit by a Foreign Minister of Pakistan to India in six years.
‘Pak stalling SAARC progress’
Jaishankar also criticised Pakistan for fuelling cross-border terrorism in South Asia, which he believes is the primary reason for the struggles faced by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
He also cited cross-border terrorism as the key obstacle to SAARC’s progress, pointing to one member state’s practice of cross-border terrorism at least against one more member.
While delivering the Sardar Patel Lecture on Governance organised by the IC Centre for Governance in New Delhi, Jaishanka said, “At the moment, SAARC is not moving forward, we haven’t had a meeting of SAARC for a very simple reason – there is one member of SAARC who is practicing cross-border terrorism at least against one more member of SAARC, maybe more… Terrorism is something which is unacceptable and despite a global view of it, if one of our neighbours continues to do it – there cannot be business as usual in SAARC. That’s the reason why the SAARC meeting has not happened in recent years – but it doesn’t mean that the regional activities have stopped.”
He added, “In fact, in the last 5-6 years, we have seen far more regional integration in the Indian subcontinent and we have seen since the participation of India. If you look today with Bangladesh, with Nepal, with Bhutan, with Myanmar, with Sri Lanka… you have roads being rebuilt… you have ferries, you have fertiliser supplies… So I would actually say that what is happening in the neighbourhood, it is happening because of the Neighbourhood First policy…”
Meanwhile, Jaishankar also expressed his concerns over the rising tensions in the Middle East and said, “Middle East is not opportunity. The Middle East is a cause of great concern and deep worry. The conflict is widening – what we saw as a terrorist attack, then the response, then we saw what happened in Gaza. Now you are seeing it in exchange in Lebanon, between Israel and Iran.”
Highlighting the repercussions of the Middle East conflict, Jaishankar noted that escalating tensions have resulted in a significant surge in shipping and insurance rates, thereby affecting global trade. “The Houthis are firing on the Red Sea. This is actually costing us. It’s not that somebody is neutral and you benefit. Shipping rates have gone up. Insurance rates have gone up. Exports and foreign trade have been affected. Oil prices have gone up.”
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