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.
Islamabad Under Tight Lockdown
The capital city, Islamabad is under tight lockdown.
Jaishankar was among nearly a dozen leaders participating in the gathering in Islamabad, culminating with the main event on Wednesday.
India’s Foreign Minister Visiting Pakistan After Nearly A Decade
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.
Shehbaz Sharif And Jaishankar Shake Hands
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.
Member Countries Of The SCO
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.
Pakistan’s PM Congratulates His Counterpart From Belarus
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.
Bilateral Meetings
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.
Three-Day Public Holiday In Islamabad
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.
he Army is 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.
Threat Perception
The threat alert has been high ahead of the summit, especially after the killing of two Chinese engineers on October 6.
The separatist Baloch Liberation Army claimed it was behind the attack.
However, no group claimed responsibility for the deaths of 21 miners in an attack on October 11.
(With inputs from Reuters)
