SCO Summit in Pakistan HIGHLIGHTS: S Jaishankar attends dinner hosted by Shehbaz Sharif for leaders

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif shook hands and exchanged greetings on Tuesday (October 15) ahead of the SCO Summit in Islamabad. The EAM arrived in the Pakistani capital city today to lead a delegation in the SCO Council of Heads of Government Meeting. This marked the first visit by an Indian External Affairs Minister to Pakistan in 9 years. 

Jaishankar said he would not discuss bilateral relations during his visit. Jaishankar would represent India at the meeting the External Affairs Ministry said on Tuesday, adding that the country “remains actively engaged in the SCO format”.

EAM S Jaishankar arrived in Islamabad to attend SCO Summit.

Premiers of Belarus and Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday arrived in Islamabad, where the 23rd summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is set to commence in the evening, Dawn reported.

Today’s main event will be a welcome dinner by the prime minister. Delegations will continue arriving today as well. Once all the delegations have arrived, a flurry of activities are planned for throughout the day tomorrow, with the summit proceedings expected in the morning, Dawn reported. 

PTI announced to call off its planned protest in Islamabad, which was set to coincide with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit on Tuesday. PTI took the decision after an assurance was given to the party that a medical expert would visit the Adiala Jail today to examine Imran Khan's health. 

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar said on a post on X, “As you know that the health of Imran Khan is the top most priority for all the leaders and workers of the party. Since October 3, no lawyer, family member or party leader has been allowed to meet founding chairman. That is why the political committee of the PTI had announced a protest at D-Chowk on 15th October. We also submitted an application to the interior ministry to allow a party leader, family member or health professional to meet the founding chairman.” 

Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies have arrested more than 200 workers of Imran Khan’s party in the Punjab province to thwart its planned protest in Islamabad during the SCO summit, police said on Monday. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had announced to hold a demonstration at the D-Chowk in the capital during the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit that is scheduled to begin on Tuesday.

Notably, PTI has called off its protest scheduled on the inaugural day of the SCO Summit.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation at the SCO Summit, where he will likely raise India's concerns over cross-border terrorism and fulfilling obligations and bolster New Delhi's efforts to strengthen cooperation with other SCO member-states. Jaishankar has ruled out the possibility of bilateral talks with Pakistani officials amid tensions between the two neighbours.

India's interest in joining the bloc stemmed from its stance on the presence of a multipolar world. India has long sought access to Central Asia due to its natural resources, however, the efforts did not yield fruits due to its tensions with Pakistan. India had plans for a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to India via Pakistan and Afghanistan. India is also cautious about China's influence within the SCO and its efforts to position the organisation as an anti-Western platform.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday met Chinese Premier Li Qiang and discussed bilateral relations as well as issues of mutual and regional interests, as the two sides inked several agreements and virtually inaugurated the Beijing-funded Gwadar airport. During the delegation-level meeting, the two leaders expressed satisfaction on the Pakistan-China strategic cooperative partnership, based on mutual trust and shared principles, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

The ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after India's warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack. The relations further deteriorated after India on August 5, 2019, announced the withdrawal of special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and the bifurcation of the state into two union territories.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars and built up their armies while developing nuclear weapons. Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with India after New Delhi abrogated Article 370. India has been maintaining that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan while insisting that the onus is on Islamabad to create an environment free of terror and hostility for such engagement. 

According to a statement from the Pakistan Foreign Office, PM Shehbaz Sharif will address the SCO Council of the Heads of Government (CHG) meeting on Tuesday in the presence of senior leaders from foreign governments, such as 

• Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar
• Chinese Premier Li Qiang
• Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin
• Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref
• Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko
• Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov
• Kyrgyzstan’s Ministers Cabinet Chairman Zhaparov Akylbek
• Tajikistan’s Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda
• Uzbekistan’s Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov
• Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai
• Turkmenistan’s Cabinet of Ministers’ Deputy Chairman Rashid Meredov
• SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming
• SCO RATS Executive Committee Director Ruslan Mirzayev
• SCO Business Council Chairman of the Board Atif Ikram Shaikh
• SCO Interbank Union Chairman of the Council Marat Yelibayev

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a permanent intergovernmental international organization established on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai, China. It soon expanded to nine nations with the inclusion of India and Pakistan in 2017. Russia supported India’s entry as a longstanding strategic partner. China, too, backed its ally Pakistan to prevent the balance of powers from tilting in Russia’s favour. 

India was made an observer at the SCO in 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping, which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region. The SCO is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.

The Pakistan government has deployed more than 10,000 police and paramilitary personnel for the security of about 900 SCO delegates coming to Islamabad. As meetings are to be held in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, the government in Pakistan's Punjab province has imposed Section 144 in Rawalpindi till October 17 to maintain the law and order situation during the SCO Summit, as per local media reports.

Additionally, notices were issued to traders and hotel owners by the police, warning that any violations would result in penalties. Other security measures also include tightening the security in Adiala Jail that has former Pakistan PM Imran Khan locked up and preventing any of his supporters, lawyers or family members to meet him.

In August, Pakistan invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the SCO summit. However, PM Modi gave the event a skip and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation in his place. As Indian PM, Modi has never participated in the annual meeting of the Council of Heads of Government since India became a member in 2017.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is expected to reach Islamabad in the afternoon on Tuesday to attend the SCO Summit hosted by Pakistan. He is expected to attend the summit dinner tomorrow in the evening. There won't be any bilateral discussions between India and Pakistan.

(inputs by Vijai Laxmi)

Jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has deferred its D-Chowk protest in Islamabad scheduled for October 15 in view of the two-day SCO summit scheduled to begin today, confirmed party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan. The decision was taken after Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi formally contacted his party to ensure the medical examination of Imran Khan, Geo News reported.

While Islamabad is putting its best face to welcome 900 foreign delegates, the SCO Summit is taking place under the shadow of terrorist attacks and protests by jailed former PM Imran Khan's party. Recently, two Chinese nationals were killed in an airport at Karachi Airport.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to attend the SCO Summit, where he will lead the Indian delegation and likely raise India's concerns related to cross-border terrorism. His visit to Pakistan is the first by an Indian EAM in nine years after his predecessor Sushma Swaraj in 2015.

Pakistan is set to host the high-level Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit on October 15 and 16, with senior leaders from ally China and arch-rival India attending today.