New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday confirmed that Pakistan had sent an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting scheduled in October. However, no additional details were released by the ministry on whether PM Modi would go to Pakistan.
"We have received an invitation from Pakistan for SCO summit. We don't have an update on that. We will let you know the situation later," said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. The Foreign Office of Pakistan on Thursday confirmed that it has sent an invitation to PM Modi for the meeting.
Pakistan's invitation to PM Modi
The SCO event in Pakistan will be preceded by a ministerial meeting and several rounds of senior officials’ meetings focused on financial, economic, socio-cultural, and humanitarian cooperation among the SCO member states. During a weekly press briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Baloch said invitations have been sent to heads of countries for participation in the summit.
“An invitation has also been sent to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi,” Dawn quoted Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Baloch as saying, adding that some countries had already confirmed their participation in the meeting. "It will be informed in due course which country has confirmed." When asked about ties with India, Baloch said, “Pakistan does not have direct bilateral trade with India.”
Islamabad and New Delhi have a long history of strained relations, primarily due to the Kashmir issue as well as the cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. India has been maintaining that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan while insisting that the onus is on Islamabad to create an environment that is free of terror and hostility. Pakistan downgraded its ties with India after the Indian Parliament abrogated Article 370 on August 5, 2019.
'Era of uninterrupted dialogue with Pakistan is over'
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday issued a strongly-worded statement on Friday, saying that the era of uninterrupted dialogue with the neighbouring country is over, adding that "actions have consequences".
Speaking at a book launch event in New Delhi, Jaishankar said, "the era of uninterrupted dialogue with Pakistan is over. Actions have consequences. So far as J&K is concerned, Article 370 is done. So, the issue is what kind of relationship we can contemplate with Pakistan...What I do want to say is that we are not passive, and whether events take a positive or a negative direction, either way, we will react."
It is uncertain whether PM Modi would accept Pakistan's invitation to attend the SCO summit in Islamabad, given the nature of current ties. The Indian Prime Minister had earlier skipped the SCO Summit in Kazakhstan on July 3-4, before he embarked on a trip to Russia. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar led the Indian delegation at the meeting which featured Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
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