The Los Angeles Post
U.S. World Business Lifestyle
Today: April 15, 2025
Today: April 15, 2025

Indian minister in Pakistan on rare visit, for Shanghai Cooperation forum

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Wong, Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa attend a Quad Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo
October 15, 2024

By Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam and Asif Shahzad

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday in the first such visit in almost a decade for a meeting of governments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, with the capital city under tight lockdown.

Jaishankar was among nearly a dozen leaders participating in the gathering in Islamabad, culminating with the main event on Wednesday.

Indian minister in Pakistan on rare visit, for Shanghai Cooperation forum
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomes Chinese Premier Li Qiang, upon his arrival in Islamabad

It has been nearly a decade since a foreign minister from Pakistan's arch-rival India has visited amid frosty relations between the two nuclear powers.

Both sides have said no bilateral meeting is planned.

Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and Jaishankar shook hands and had a brief exchange while Sharif was welcoming SCO leaders to a dinner he is hosting ahead of the conference on Wednesday.

The meeting of the SCO, a Eurasian security and political group formed in 2001 by Russia and China, is the highest-profile event hosted by the troubled South Asian nation in years. 

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is in Pakistan and seven more prime ministers of other member and observer states, including Russia's Mikhail Mishustin, were also due to participate in person. 

The SCO also includes Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The prime ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikstan, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Mongolia, Akylbek Zhaparov, Qohir Rasulzoda, Olzhas Bektenov, Roman Golovchenko and Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, arrived on Tuesday.

Sharif congratulated Belarus's prime minister on becoming a full member of the SCO.

While the main SCO meeting will take place on Wednesday, Sharif is hosting a welcome dinner on Tuesday. Pakistan's Foreign Office said Sharif would also hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines. 

The meeting will discuss cooperation in the fields of economy and trade. Observers believe the bloc seeks to counter Western influence in the region.

Pakistan's government announced a three-day public holiday in Islamabad, with schools and businesses shut and large contingents of police and paramilitary forces deployed.

The army was responsible for the security of the capital's Red Zone, the location of parliament and a diplomatic enclave and where most of the SCO meetings will take place, according to the interior ministry.

The threat alert has been high ahead of the summit, especially after the killing of two Chinese engineers on Oct. 6, in an attack claimed by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army, and the deaths of 21 miners in an attack on Oct. 11, for which no group claimed responsibility.

(Reporting by Gibran Peshimam and Asif Shahzad; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Bernadette Baum and Ed Osmond)

Share This

Popular

Asia|Business|Economy|Political|Stock Markets|US

Boeing shares fall on report that China has halted its deliveries as part of trade war

Boeing shares fall on report that China has halted its deliveries as part of trade war
Asia|Business|Economy|World

China's customs administration encourages companies to expand in diverse markets

China's customs administration encourages companies to expand in diverse markets
Americas|Asia|Business|Economy|Technology

Apple airlifted iPhones worth a record $2 billion from India in March as Trump tariffs loomed

Apple airlifted iPhones worth a record $2 billion from India in March as Trump tariffs loomed
Asia|Business|Economy|Finance|Stock Markets|US

Wall Street ticks higher in a rare quiet day following weeks of tariff turmoil

Wall Street ticks higher in a rare quiet day following weeks of tariff turmoil

World

Economy|Europe|Political|World

Spend more on defence now to protect Europe from Russia, says Lithuania's defence minister

Spend more on defence now to protect Europe from Russia, says Lithuania's defence minister
Business|Economy|Europe|Political|US|World

Italy's Meloni to meet Trump amid U.S.- Europe trade tensions

Italy's Meloni to meet Trump amid U.S.- Europe trade tensions
Economy|Health|MidEast|Political|World

Afghan children will die because of US funding cuts, aid official says

Afghan children will die because of US funding cuts, aid official says
Business|Crime|Technology|US|World

Cargo ship was ignited by a Jeep dripping 'fireballs' while pushing vehicles on board, NTSB finds

Cargo ship was ignited by a Jeep dripping 'fireballs' while pushing vehicles on board, NTSB finds

Access this article for free.

Already have an account? Sign In