External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, where he was welcomed by officials.
Jaishankar is expected to attend a dinner hosted by Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to welcome the representatives from SCO member nations.
Jaishankar, who is in Pakistan to attend the SCO summit scheduled for October 15 and 16, will spend less than 24 hours in the country.
His visit comes at a time when relations between India and Pakistan remain strained. The February 2019 Pulwama attack and the subsequent Balakot airstrike severely impacted ties between the two nations.
The situation worsened further after India revoked Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019.
In a recent event, Jaishankar stated, "Like any neighbor, India would certainly like to have good relations with Pakistan. However, this cannot happen as long as cross-border terrorism continues."
For the first time in nearly nine years, an Indian Foreign Minister will visit Pakistan, despite ongoing strained relations between the two neighboring countries over the Kashmir issue and Pakistan’s cross-border terrorism.
Reports suggest that Jaishankar will stay in Pakistan for less than 24 hours. Pakistan is hosting the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting, which will take place on October 15 and 16.
The last Indian Foreign Minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj, who traveled to Islamabad in December 2015 to participate in a conference on Afghanistan.
Pakistan had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August to attend the SCO summit.
