According to the information, Pakistan on Thursday has announced that the foreign minister of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would travel to India in May to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting. As per reports, Pakistans Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahrah Baloch said that the foreign minister of Pakistan would be attending the meeting as the External Affairs Minister of India S Jaishankar has invited him to attend the SCO meeting.During a media briefing, Pakistans Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahrah Baloch announced, “Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will be leading the Pakistan delegation to the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) being held on May 4-5, 2023, in Goa, India.”It is anticipated that the visit of Pakistans foreign minister could be a development towards breaking the ice between both countries. First Pakistan foreign minister to visit at a gap of 12 yearsBilawal Bhutto Zardaris visit would be the first high-level visit to India by any Pakistani leader in recent years. This is seen as the first big visit from Pakistan since Nawaz Sharif visited India. The last time a top minister from Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif came to India to attend the oath ceremony of Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Notably, Bilawal will be the first foreign minister from Pakistan who would visit India after a gap of 12 years. The most recent trip to India by a top Pakistani official was in 2016, when Sartaj Aziz, who was then the prime ministers senior advisor on foreign policy, visited. Thereafter, no representative of Pakistan has travelled to India in the last seven years.Reason for invitationAs per sources, India wants cordial relations with Pakistan as part of its “Neighborhood First Policy.” According to an official, Indias consistent position is that any disputes between India and Pakistan should be settled bilaterally and amicably in an atmosphere free of terror and violence. “It is Pakistans responsibility to create such an atmosphere,” the official said. “It has been made clear that India would not make concessions on matters about national security and will act firmly and decisively to counter all attempts to undermine Indias security and territorial integrity,” it added.India holds PresidencyCurrently, India is in charge of the SCO. Members of the SCO, including the newly appointed foreign ministers of China (Qin Gang) and Pakistan (Bilawal Bhutto Zardari), were extended the invitation in January.“We presently reign over the SCO. We extend invites to every member of the SCO, including Pakistan. The official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, said during a press conference in February that “We expect them all to attend the events.”India-Pakistan ties under strainIn 2015, when Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Pakistan, relations between India and Pakistan deteriorated. After the 2019 terror attack in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, carried out by terrorists backed by Pakistan, and Indias subsequent surgical strikes on terrorist training facilities in Pakistans Balakot, relations between the ties between both countries worsened, thereafter India declared the removal of Jammu and Kashmirs special powers and the division of the state into Union territories in August 2019.SCO and Chinas handChina is the head of the SCO, an eight-nation regional security and economic alliance that also includes Russia, Pakistan, and India. Also, China is one of Pakistans most significant friends in the area due to its close economic, political, and military connections with that country.The most recent development occurred after China last month brokered a deal between two other long-standing adversaries, Iran and Saudi Arabia. After seven years of antagonism, Saudi Arabia and Iran declared on March 10 that they will re-establish diplomatic ties. This pact, which might have significant ramifications for the Middle East, was hailed as a big soft power victory for Beijing.Within two months, Riyadh and Tehran intend to restore their embassies and put into effect a security accord that was initially inked 22 years ago, in a deal brokered by China. As it broadens its worldwide reach, Saudi Arabia received status as a conversation partner earlier this month, bringing it closer to joining the SCO group.
