External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar clarified on Saturday that his visit to Islamabad is not aimed at discussing 'India-Pakistan relations,' but rather to participate in the multilateral event, the SCO Summit 2024, which is being hosted by the neighboring country. The minister emphasized that he is traveling to Pakistan solely to fulfill his role as a 'good member of the SCO.'

'Yes, I am scheduled to go to Pakistan in the middle of this month for the SCO meeting – the heads of government meeting,' Jaishankar stated during the Sardar Patel Lecture on Governance organized by IC Centre for Governance in New Delhi.

He further added, 'I anticipate significant media interest due to the nature of our relationship, and I believe we will address it. However, I want to clarify that this visit is for a multilateral event; I am not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations. I am going there to be a good member of the SCO. As a courteous and civil person, I will conduct myself accordingly.'

Jaishankar highlighted that the SCO Summit is being held in Islamabad this time, similar to India, Pakistan is also a recent member of the bloc. 'Normally, the Prime Minister attends the high-level meeting, the heads of state, in line with tradition. This time, the meeting is in Pakistan, as they, like us, are relatively new members,' he explained.

When asked about his preparations for the summit, the EAM said, 'Of course, I am planning for it. In my line of work, you plan for everything you are going to do, and even for things you might not do but could happen.'

On Friday, the MEA announced that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will travel to Pakistan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit scheduled for October.

MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed, 'EAM Jaishankar will lead a delegation to Pakistan to participate in the SCO summit to be held in Islamabad on October 15-16.'

Earlier in August, India received an invitation from Pakistan for the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) in-person meeting. In May 2023, Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited India for the SCO meeting in Goa, marking the first visit by a Pakistani Foreign Minister to India in six years.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation established on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Its predecessor was the mechanism of the Shanghai Five. Currently, the SCO includes nine member states: India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. The SCO also has three observer states: Afghanistan, Mongolia, and Belarus.