Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: Pakistan has extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for the upcoming Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting scheduled for October 15-16, 2024. While Pakistan holds the rotating chairmanship of the CHG, it is highly unlikely that PM Modi will travel to Islamabad for the event, given the ongoing tensions between the two nations.
Traditionally, India has been represented at the CHG meetings by a minister rather than the Prime Minister. Last year, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar attended the CHG meeting held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. It remains to be seen whether India will follow the same protocol this year or if the leaders will be allowed to participate virtually, a possibility that has not yet been clarified.
Pakistan’s invitation to India comes amid a backdrop of strained relations, exacerbated by recent terror attacks in Jammu. These incidents are expected to deter any high-profile visit by an Indian minister to Pakistan. PM Modi, in his message during Kargil Vijay Diwas last month, specifically called out Pakistan, accusing it of continuing its relevance through terrorism and proxy wars.
Despite the SCO being one of the few multilateral platforms where India and Pakistan manage to engage, the bilateral relationship remains fraught with challenges. Since the failed attempt to revive dialogue in 2015 and subsequent terror attacks, India and Pakistan have largely avoided direct high-level engagements. Even though Pakistan’s then Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited India for an SCO foreign ministers’ meeting last year, the prospects of meaningful cooperation remain bleak.
India’s cautious approach to the SCO, particularly its skepticism of China’s dominance within the organization, further complicates matters. Unlike other SCO member states, India has consistently refused to endorse China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in joint statements. Last year, when India hosted the heads of state summit virtually, it notably declined to join a long-term economic strategy proposed by the bloc, viewing it as favoring Chinese interests.
While Pakistan continues to push for India to reverse its 2019 decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, India maintains that there is nothing left to discuss with Pakistan regarding Kashmir, except for Pakistan’s illegal occupation of parts of the region. Given these entrenched positions, the likelihood of a thaw in India-Pakistan relations remains slim, despite the formalities of invitations and protocol.
