In the prevailing atmosphere of mistrust between Pakistan and India, the arrival of Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Islamabad is a significant political breakthrough. This visit is particularly notable as it’s been a decade since there has been any meaningful progress in direct talks between the two countries.
S. Jaishankar’s visit marks the first by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in ten years. Many had anticipated that India might either abstain from the SCO summit altogether or send a low-ranking representative. Although Jaishankar’s attendance is indeed noteworthy, the mutual mistrust between the two nations remains high, compounded by India’s and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stance on bilateral relations, which hampers any progress that might benefit the entire region.
The SCO, a regional organization established in 2001, aims to foster cooperation on political, economic, and security matters. The organization’s members include China, Russia, Pakistan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and recently, Iran as a permanent member. Despite this framework for cooperation, relations between Pakistan and India are strained, with India’s approach largely defined by hostility towards Pakistan. Consequently, India’s decision to limit the visit strictly to the SCO agenda suggests it’s unwilling to engage with Pakistan beyond the immediate scope of the summit.
India’s reluctance to engage directly with Pakistan reflects its desire to avoid offering any perceived political concessions that might benefit Pakistan. Although Pakistan has repeatedly taken steps to improve bilateral relations, these efforts have largely been met with indifference from India. This begs the question of whether India’s decision to participate in the SCO summit was influenced by its own strategic considerations or by diplomatic pressure, possibly from countries like China.
Without external facilitation from major global powers, breaking the deep-seated mistrust between the two nations remains challenging. The issues at stake—extremism, terrorism, security, water disputes, trade, Kashmir, and now, Afghanistan and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)—require cooperative solutions that regional forums like the SCO can potentially foster
Jaishankar’s visit presents an opportunity for both sides to engage diplomatically, even if the agenda is officially limited. It’s an occasion to leverage both formal and informal interactions to ease tensions, though expectations of a substantial breakthrough remain tempered. The absence of official side meetings suggests that the visit won’t immediately address core issues, but diplomatic engagement could nonetheless open channels for future dialogue.
The existing deadlock affects not only bilateral trade but also hampers regional cooperation through forums like SAARC. As the larger nation, India bears a greater responsibility to lead by example, aiming for stability and resolving disputes to reinforce regional cooperation. For any progress, however, substantial external support especially from powers like the United States, China, and Russia could prove essential in breaking the stalemate.