Islamabad: PM Modi to attend upcoming SCO meeting in Pakistan

Pakistan has officially extended an invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting, scheduled to take place in Islamabad on October 15-16. This development was reported by Geo News.

During a weekly briefing, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokesperson for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed that invitations have been sent to all heads of government from SCO member states, including PM Modi. Baloch added that Pakistan has already received several confirmations for the high-profile meeting, which will be hosted in the nation's capital.

Invitation by Pakistan's defence minister

This invitation comes shortly after Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif mentioned that his country would indeed extend an invitation to PM Modi for the regional summit. The SCO meeting is expected to bring together leaders from the nine member states to discuss regional cooperation and international security.

It’s noteworthy that earlier media reports suggested PM Modi would not attend the summit in Pakistan, a claim the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India had denied. 

About SCO

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, founded on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai, is a permanent intergovernmental international organization. Initially formed by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, the SCO has since expanded to include nine member states, with India, Iran, and Pakistan among them. The organization focuses on political, economic, and security-related cooperation.

As the date for the summit approaches, it remains to be seen whether PM Modi will accept the invitation, given the complex geopolitical relations between India and Pakistan.