SCO summit: Jaishankar rules out bilateral talks in Pakistan

MUMBAI: Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will not discuss bilateral relations when he visits Pakistan this month, the first such visit in nearly a decade, for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

“I expect there would be a lot of media interest because of the very nature of the relationship,” Jaishankar said in response to a query at an event in New Delhi.

“But I do want to say it will be for a multilateral event. I am not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations,” he added.

On Friday, the Indian foreign ministry confirmed that Jaishankar will visit Pakistan to participate in the summit on Oct 15-16 but did not say if he would meet any Pakistani leaders on the sidelines.

Earlier this year, Jaishankar said that India would want to “find a solution to the issue of years-old cross-border terrorism” but added that it cannot be the “policy of a good neighbour”. “I am going there to be a good member of the SCO but since I am a courteous and civil person, I will behave myself accordingly,” he said.