Jaishankar’s Strong Message to Pakistan at SCO Summit

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Islamabad, delivered a sharp rebuke to Pakistan over its involvement in cross-border terrorism. He emphasized that Pakistan needs to reflect on why the relationship between the two countries has deteriorated. Speaking at the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) summit, Jaishankar […]

Jaishankar's Strong Message to Pakistan at SCO Summit
by Nisha Srivastava - October 17, 2024, 7:22 am

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Islamabad, delivered a sharp rebuke to Pakistan over its involvement in cross-border terrorism. He emphasized that Pakistan needs to reflect on why the relationship between the two countries has deteriorated.

Speaking at the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) summit, Jaishankar stated, “If trust is lacking or cooperation inadequate, if the friendship has fallen short and good neighbourliness is missing somewhere, there are surely reasons to introspect and causes to address.” Though he did not directly name Pakistan, his comments clearly alluded to the country’s role in fostering terrorism and extremism across borders, adding that such activities hinder trade, connectivity, and positive exchanges between nations. He remarked, “If activities across borders are characterized by terrorism, extremism and separatism, they are hardly likely to encourage trade, energy flows, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges in parallel.”

India’s Active Role in the Summit

Jaishankar highlighted India’s constructive participation at the summit, mentioning that the country contributed positively to the discussions and signed eight outcome documents. He also extended India’s best wishes to Russia, which will take over the presidency of the SCO in the coming year under its rotational mechanism.

“India extends its best wishes to Russia as it takes over the SCO CHG Presidency,” Jaishankar said.

In a social media post, Jaishankar outlined the key outcomes of the summit, which included:

  • Developing a dialogue on the concept of “One Earth, One Family, One Future.”
  • SCO members welcomed India’s initiatives like the SCO Startup Forum and programs on traditional medicine.
  • Digital Public Infrastructure and Digital Inclusion were added to the SCO cooperation framework.
  • The summit took inspiration from India’s Mission LiFE to support the achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs).
  • Efforts to enhance global food security by promoting climate-resilient grains like millets.
  • Support for balanced connectivity projects that align with international law, the UN Charter, and the SCO Charter.
  • Reinforcing a rules-based, non-discriminatory, open, fair, and transparent multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core.
  • Opposing protectionist measures, unilateral sanctions, and trade restrictions that harm global sustainable development.

Before departing Islamabad, Jaishankar thanked Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, and the Pakistani government for their hospitality during the summit.

Strained Relations Between India and Pakistan

India-Pakistan relations have been under significant strain since February 2019, when Indian airstrikes targeted a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot, Pakistan, following the Pulwama terror attack. Tensions escalated further in August 2019, when India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and split the state into two union territories.

In response, Pakistan downgraded its diplomatic ties with India. While India has maintained that it seeks peaceful and normal relations with Pakistan, it insists that Pakistan must take concrete steps to eliminate terrorism and reduce hostilities for any meaningful dialogue to take place.

Brief Interaction with Pakistan’s Prime Minister

A day before Jaishankar’s speech, he briefly exchanged pleasantries with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at a dinner reception hosted by Sharif for the SCO delegates. Jaishankar and Sharif shared a brief handshake and a few words during the event, where Sharif greeted all the heads of the delegations from SCO member nations.

This marked the first visit by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in almost nine years, even as tensions over issues like Kashmir and cross-border terrorism persisted. Despite the challenges, India reaffirmed its active participation in the SCO, which Pakistan hosted on October 15 and 16.

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