Explainer: India, Pakistan PMs likely to meet after six years at SCO summit

There is a lot of speculation in the media over the likely meeting of the prime ministers of India and Pakistan, Narendra Modi and Shahbaz Sharif, who are likely to have a meeting during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, according to diplomatic sources. The summit is scheduled for September 15-16. While Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto denied any schedule for the meeting of the two leaders, the diplomatic sources confirmed that in its July 28 meeting, the SCO foreign ministers had reiterated that the heads of SCO states will attend the summit.

Ambiguity surrounding the meet

The summit is likely to see a meeting between Modi and Sharif on the sidelines of the SCO event. It is for the first time in six years that prime ministers of India and Pakistan will be present in the same event for two days. Sources from Pakistan said that Sharif will attend the conference during which he is likely to meet the presidents of China, Russia, Iran, as well as Modi.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto, who had attended the meeting in Tashkent, said that a bilateral meeting between the Pakistani and Indian leaders is not scheduled. “There are no plans of any meetings between Indian and Pakistani Prime Ministers in September,” he had.

He had said: “India is our neighbouring country. While one can decide on a lot of things, one cannot choose its neighbours, therefore, we should get used to living with them,” reported Pakistani newspaper The News. Bilawal recalled that after 2019, constructive dialogue with India became difficult, while statements based on Islamophobia by Indian officials are further creating hurdles in dialogue, added the paper.

Foreign ministers meet: India sets tone for SCO summit

India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at the SCO Foreign Ministers’ conclave in Tashkent asserted that “zero tolerance” for terrorism in all its manifestations is a must in the presence of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto. He tried to give the message that the Indian leadership is going to raise the issue of terrorism as a big agenda during the conclave in September.

Agenda of the SCO

The SCO Summit is shaping to be an important one. Various contentious issues affecting foreign relations involving India, Pakistan and China are likely to be discussed. However, PM Modi is likely to raise the issue of terrorism in presence his Pakistan and China counterparts. The issues on the agenda are; the Ukraine conflict, energy security, the food crisis, the situation in Afghanistan, terrorism, the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, trade, and connectivity. There are eight member-states – China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan – in the SCO. Uzbekistan, which currently holds the organisation’s rotating presidency, hosted a meeting of SCO Foreign Ministers in Tashkent a couple of weeks ago to finalise the framework agenda for the summit and presented over 15 draft documents which were agreed upon. – INDIA NEWS STREAM