Pakistan has extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting in October. India typically sends a minister to represent the country at these meetings, with Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar attending last year’s gathering in Bishkek. It is uncertain if leaders unable to attend in person will be allowed to participate virtually.
Both India and Pakistan are full members of the SCO, an organization led by Russia and China that India considers crucial for regional security and collaboration with Central Asian nations. However, India remains cautious of China’s influence within the SCO and its attempts to position the group as an anti-West platform. Unlike other member states, India has consistently refused to endorse China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in SCO joint statements. During last year’s virtual heads of state summit hosted by Modi, India also declined to support a long-term economic strategy proposed by the bloc, viewing it as favoring Chinese interests.
Despite ongoing tensions, the SCO remains one of the few multilateral forums where India and Pakistan have managed to cooperate since their relationship soured in 2015 following a series of terror attacks. Indian delegations have participated in SCO exercises held in Pakistan and vice versa. Pakistan’s former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also visited India last year for an SCO foreign ministers’ meeting. The SCO Charter, which prohibits member states from raising bilateral issues, has facilitated this cooperation.
The Indian government has yet to decide on the CHG meeting invitation, which was extended following SCO protocol. However, recent terror attacks in Jammu could discourage any high-profile ministerial visit to Pakistan. In a recent speech, Modi criticized Pakistan for not learning from history and continuing to rely on terrorism and proxy warfare. The last visit to Pakistan by an Indian foreign minister was in 2015, made by Sushma Swaraj.
Although Modi once shared a close relationship with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s brother, Nawaz Sharif, the prospects for improved India-Pakistan relations remain slim. Pakistan seeks the reversal of India’s decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, while India maintains that the only issue left to discuss with Pakistan concerning Kashmir is the illegal occupation of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
