Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Pakistan on October 15, 2024, for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conclave, marking India's first high-level visit to Pakistan in nine years amid strained ties. The visit comes as Pakistan hosts the 23rd SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting in Islamabad. The two-day event will focus on economic, trade, environmental, and socio-cultural cooperation among SCO members.

Jaishankar is expected to attend a banquet hosted by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to welcome the delegates. However, bilateral talks between Jaishankar and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar have been ruled out. His stay in Pakistan is anticipated to last less than 24 hours.

The meeting is taking place under heightened security, with Pakistan’s main opposition party, Pakistan Tehreeki-Insaf (PTI), calling off a planned protest in Islamabad. The protest was originally intended to pressure the government into allowing a medical team to visit jailed party leader Imran Khan after visits to inmates were restricted ahead of the SCO summit.

10 Key Points on the SCO Meeting and India-Pakistan Relations

1. The last Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj, who attended a conference on Afghanistan in Islamabad in December 2015.
2. In August, Pakistan extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the upcoming SCO summit.
3. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's potential visit to Pakistan is viewed as a significant diplomatic move by New Delhi.
4. During a recent event, Jaishankar expressed, "India certainly desires good relations with Pakistan, like with any neighbor, but this cannot be achieved by ignoring cross-border terrorism and engaging in wishful thinking."
5. Sending a senior minister to the SCO summit demonstrates India's dedication to the organization.
6. India-Pakistan relations have been under intense strain since February 2019, when Indian airstrikes targeted a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Balakot in retaliation for the Pulwama terror attack.
7. Tensions escalated further after India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019, leading to the region's division into two union territories.
8. Following India's abrogation of Article 370, Pakistan downgraded its diplomatic relations with India.
9. India has consistently maintained its desire for normal relations with Pakistan, emphasizing that the onus is on Islamabad to foster an environment free from terrorism and hostility.
10. In May 2023, Pakistan's then foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari made a historic visit to India for an in-person SCO foreign ministers' meeting in Goa, marking the first visit by a Pakistani foreign minister to India in nearly 12 years.