Pak invites Modi to SCO meeting in Islamabad in October

“Invitations have been sent to the heads of countries to participate in the meeting which will take place on October 15-16. An invitation has also been sent to the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi (too),” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told the weekly press briefing in Islamabad.

The SCO council of heads of government level is the second-highest body in the grouping. In the last seven years, since 2017, India has been represented at the level of External Affairs Minister or Defence Minister. External Affairs minister S Jaishankar participated in Bishkek last year. In 2020, when India hosted the SCO head of government level meeting virtually, Pakistan was represented by Pakistan’s Parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs. Earlier, then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj or Defence Minister Rajnath Singh have attended.

The SCO heads of state level meeting is the highest body in the grouping, which is usually attended by Presidents and Prime Ministers. PM Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin attend the SCO heads of state level meeting.

Some countries have already confirmed participation for the meeting, which will be informed in due course, the Pakistan foreign ministry spokesperson said.

When asked about ties with India, the spokesperson said: “Pakistan does not have direct bilateral trade with India.” The Islamabad summit meeting 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.

The SCO, comprising India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is an influential economic and security bloc that has emerged as one of the largest trans-regional international organisations.

As part of this key regional group, both Pakistan and India can hold summit meetings.

India hosted the SCO Summit last year, organised in a virtual mode, and attended by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif through a video link.

However, Pakistan’s then foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited India in May 2023 to attend the in-person two-day meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in Goa, which was the first Pakistani foreign minister to visit India in almost 12 years.

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 for such an engagement.

Pakistan downgraded its ties with India after the Indian Parliament abrogated Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

(With PTI inputs from Islamabad)