Omkar Dattatray
Foreign minister of India S.Jaishankar has paid visit to Islamabad Pakistan ostensibly and clearly had taken part in the SCO summit hosted by Pakistan. It was the first visit of any Indian foreign to Pakistan in last nine years and therefore this visit is considered very significant as it is construed a very positive development to break the chill and ice in the relations between India and Pakistan .Jaishankar has stated in no uncertain terms that his visit is not for bilateral relations but only for taking part in the deliberations in Singhia cooperation organization .There were no formal talks between Indian foreign minister and Pakistan prime minister Shabaz Sharief .However there were casual and informal talks between the two .Besides ,there were casual talks between Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart .However people of Pakistan and India are expecting that something encouraging ,positive and good will come from the visit of foreign minister .Jaishankar has unequivocally stated the Indian stand that terror and talks cannot be held simultaneously. He further said that terrorism ,extremism and separatism are the big enemies of peace not only in South Africa but in the whole world.Indian External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar had casual conversations with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his counterpart Isaq Dar during the SCO summit in Islamabad .However there were no formal bilateral discussions. The smooth completion of the first visit by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in nearly 9 years is being viewed by Indian government as a positive step .Jaishankar expressed gratitude in a post on X ,thanking Shehbaz & Dar for their hospitality .The interactions were described by Indian government as casual ,while Pakistani officials mentioned a brief pull -aside lasting 5 to 7 minutes between Jaishankar and Dar during a dinner hosted by Shebaz Sharif .Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi ,who is also the chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board ,joined Jaishankar and Dar .Pakistan suggested resuming bilateral cricket ties to” break the ice” Naqvi described Jaishankar’s visit as an ice-breaker ,despite no formal bilateral meeting being proposed .Pakistan hopes to host the Champions Trophy next year and wants India’s participation .India and Pakistan’s relationship has been strained since the unsuccessful attempt to resume dialogue in 2015 and further deteriorated after India’s revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in 2019.The relationship between the two countries has been in a deep freeze since the failed attempt to restart dialogue in 2015,which was labeled as comprehensive bilateral dialogue .Tensions escalated further when Pakistan recalled its high commissioner in August 2019 after India’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir .Indian government noted their appreciation that Shehbaz refrained from raising any bilateral issues in his remarks as the summit host .After External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan for the SCO summit ,it is to be seen whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakiatan PM Shebaz Sharif will also break ice on the sidelines of upcoming international events .After Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan to attend SCO summit ,there is speculation whether a meeting between the two premiers is also on cards.PM Narendra Modi and Pakistani PM Shebaz Shraif are both expected to attend the UN climate conference in Azerbaijan’s Baku on November 11-22.Following the apparently positive exchanges between Jaishankar and Pakistani leaders ,it remains to be seen if a Modi-Shehbaz meeting is also on the cards .Jaishankar had positive exchanges with Shebaz and Pak foreign minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar .The two leaders spoke twice within 24 hours and there were discussions between the two over resuming bilateral cricket relationships.EAM Jaishankar had ‘casual conversation ‘with both Pak prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and his counterpart Ishaq Dar over two days even though there was no formal bilateral meeting between the foreign ministers on the margins of the SCO heads of government summit in Islamabad .The fact that the first visit by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in almost nine years went off without a hitch was seen as a positive development by the Indian government .When Jaishankar departed after 24 hour stay in Islamabad from the Nur-Khan airbase in Rawalpindi ,the EAM ,who had said recently India is not passive on Pakistan and will react to positive and negative developments accordingly, thanked Shehbaz and Dar in a post on X for the hospitality and courtesies .While Indian government described the talks as casual conversations ,Pakistan officials said there was a pull-aside ,which lasted for 5-7 minutes ,between Jaishankar and Dar on the sidelines of the dinner hosted by Pakistan Shebaz Sharif .Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi ,who is also the chief of PCB is learnt to have joined Jaishankar and Dar .Pakistan suggested resumption of bilateral cricketing ties as a way of ‘breaking the ice ‘.Naqvi was later quoted as saying that Jaishankar’s visit was an ice-breaker even though neither side proposed a bilateral meeting .Pakistan is looking to host the Champions Trophy next year and would like India to participate .Indian government appreciated the fact that Shehbaz didn’t rake up any bilateral issue in his remarks as the host of the SCO summit. While Jaishankar’s remarks on terrorism were seen as a message for Pakistan ,the minister had only spoken about issues that the SCO has identified as key challenges and that other member -states can also relate to .Jaishankar categorically stated from the Pak soil that 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. If trust is lacking or cooperation inadequate ,if friendship has fallen short and good neighborliness is missing somewhere ,there are surely reasons to introspect and causes to address .Jaishankaris learnt to have had another extended conversation with Dar at the SCO lunch table where both were seated next to each other .”It was not initially planned that way but later they sat together and spoke over lunch in the presence of other delegates .However both sides denied that there was any proposal for resumption of dialogue. Shabaz AND Indian PM Modi are expected to come face to face next month at COP29 in Azerbaijan but for any substantive engagement ,India will want Pakistan to first reappoint high commissioner .After his return from Pakistan ,Jaishankar said in another post on X that India made a positive and constructive contribution to the talks in Islamabad and identified 8 takeaways from India’s prespective from the documents that were signed. These included upholding fair and balanced connectivity projects in accordance with international law ,the goals and principles of the UN -charter and SCO Charter and a fair,open inclusive and transparent multilateral trading system with WTO at its core. Significantly another Pakistan minister Ahsan Iqbal had told visiting Indian journalists that Pakistan wants the 2 countries to return to the 1999 Lahore Declaration that called both sides to refrain from intervening and interfering in each other’s internal affairs .In short we can say that though no bilateral talks were resumed but the Jaishankar’s visit has been successful in breaking the ice and chill in relations between the two countries.
(The author is a columnist, social and KP activist).