The SCO comprises China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus — with 16 more countries affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners

Saifullah Ansar

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed foreign dignitaries, including India’s Minister for External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, to the dinner for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) first day on Tuesday.

The SCO comprises China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus — with 16 more countries affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners”.

Pakistan became a full member of the SCO at its 2017 summit in Kazakhstan, which was attended by ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, who recently also expressed hope for reviving ties with India.

In his capacity as the current Chair of the Council of the Heads of Government (CHG), Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will preside over the summit.

Right before the SCO dinner, footage from the venue showed PM Shehbaz welcoming and shaking hands with dignitaries, including India’s Jaishankar, with whom he held a brief conversation.

Jaishankar arrived in Pakistan yesterday— the first such visit in nearly a decade. State-run PTV showed images of Jaishankar being received by the Director General for South Asia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ilyas Mehmood Nizami, and other Pakistani officials after his plane touched down at the Nur Khan Airbase just before 3:30pm.

Jaishankar’s own post on X about his arrival only mentioned the SCO summit.

The Indian minister has said he would not discuss bilateral relations during his visit.

Jaishankar would “represent India at the meeting”, his foreign ministry said on Tuesday, adding that the country “remains actively engaged in the SCO format”.

“Even though it won’t be a fleeting visit as was previously thought, Jaishankar will likely spend not more than 24 hours in Pakistan before flying back to India.

PPP Chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, while speaking to a private news channel, said that according to the rules of the SCO, country representatives cannot talk about bilateral issues during the summit.

“There are other forums where countries can talk about their bilateral matters,” Bilawal said.

When asked about a comment on India’s developing situation in Canada, Bilawal said that the accusations against the Indian government were “quite serious”, however, given that Pakistan was hosting the event and according to the country’s tradition of protecting the esteem of its guests, he would respect India and not give a detailed comment in that regard.