Indian External Affairs Minister Going On A 'Rare' Visit to Pakistan

The relationship between India and Pakistan, two neighboring countries in the subcontinent, has always been fraught with tension. This relationship hit a new low in February 2019, following an attack by the Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed on an Indian military convoy in Pulwama, located in Indian-administered Kashmir. The attack resulted in the deaths of at least 40 Indian soldiers.

In response to this attack, the Indian Air Force carried out a surgical strike in Balakot, Pakistan. Later, in August of the same year, the Indian government revoked the special constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir. This move was met with strong condemnation from Pakistan, but India ignored the protests, further escalating the animosity between the two nations.

The last visit by an Indian minister to Pakistan occurred in 2015, when then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj traveled there. Since then, no Indian minister has visited Pakistan for nearly a decade.

Breaking this stalemate, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is set to visit Pakistan soon. He is primarily going to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit taking place in Islamabad. This visit is expected to occur around mid-October.

The spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, announced this during a press conference. According to reports, the SCO summit will take place on October 15 and 16, and Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation.

In addition to India and Pakistan, the SCO also includes Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan as its member states.