Jaishankar has already made it clear that there will be no bilateral talks with Pakistan at the SCO meeting.
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar addressed the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in Pakistan. He said terrorism and business cannot go hand in hand.
Without naming Pakistan and China, Jaishankar said all countries must respect each other’s borders.
The Indian foreign minister said that if there is a decline in friendship between SCO member countries and relations with neighbors deteriorate, this should be taken into account. He said that if there has been a decline in trust between us, then we need to look within ourselves and understand the reason.
Earlier, while opening the SCO meeting, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif had said that Pakistan wanted peace, security and economic progress.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif hosted a dinner for SCO leaders on Tuesday evening. It was here that Prime Minister Shahbaz and Jaishankar met. The Pakistani Prime Minister shook hands. Last year, at an SCO meeting in Goa, Jaishankar had greeted then Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto and avoided shaking his hand.
After dinner, a cultural program was also held for the SCO leaders. In this context, a Pakistani artist performed Bharatnatyam. During this session, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif was seen sitting with the Chinese and Kazakh prime ministers.
Follow the live blog for updates related to the SCO meeting taking place in Pakistan…
Updates
11:29 a.m.October 16, 2024
Jaishankar left from Pakistan
Foreign Minister Jaishankar left after completing his two-day visit to Pakistan. He posted this information on X.
06:30October 16, 2024
Jaishankar said: fight against terrorism is necessary for development
Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar addressed the SCO meeting. He said that to achieve the goal of the SCO, it is necessary to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism. This requires trust and honesty with each other.
Referring to the Corona outbreak as well as the Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah and Russia-Ukraine conflicts, Jaishankar said this meeting was taking place in a very difficult time. The issues are numerous, from climate change to the supply chain. This affects development.
05:49October 16, 2024
Shahbaz Sharif said: Pakistan wants peace
Opening the SCO meeting, Shahbaz Sharif said Pakistan wanted peace, security and socio-economic progress. Afghanistan shares a land border with us, so peace there is important to us. Afghan territory should not be used for terrorist purposes against its neighbors.
Sharif said a strong SCO requires better connectivity. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor should be expanded. Many people live in poverty in this region. This will lead to their development. He said such projects should not be viewed with narrow thinking.
05:32October 16, 2024
Jaishankar seen in photoshoot with group leaders
Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar participated in a photo opportunity with the group leaders before attending the SCO meeting.
05:23October 16, 2024
Jaishankar once again shook hands with Pakistani Prime Minister
Foreign Minister Jaishankar visited Jinnah Convention Center to attend the SCO meeting. Here he again shook hands with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. In some time, Jaishankar will participate in the photoshoot with the group leaders.
04:23October 16, 2024
Jaishankar planted saplings at Indian Embassy in Pakistan
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar planted saplings at the Indian Embassy in Islamabad. Here he planted a sapling of Arjuna.
04:05October 16, 2024
S Jaishankar met Mongolian PM
Foreign Minister Jaishankar met Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene on Tuesday evening. Mongolia is not a member of the SCO but is participating in the summit as an observer state.
03:58October 16, 2024
Heads of state of 8 countries participate in the SCO meeting
Heads of eight member countries are participating in this SCO meeting. Meanwhile, the Foreign Minister of India and the Commerce Minister of Iran will attend the meeting. Earlier, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Raza Asif was scheduled to attend the meeting, but his visit to Pakistan was postponed at the last moment.
03:56October 16, 2024
Jaishankar and Chinese Prime Minister met
According to the Times of India report, there was not much conversation between Shahbaz and Jaishankar during the dinner. During dinner, Jaishankar and Chinese Premier Li Qiang also met and chatted for some time.
Earlier, the Pakistani government had uploaded a video of Jaishankar’s arrival at the SCO meeting, the caption of which read: “There will be exciting discussions ahead.” However, Jaishankar has already ruled out any bilateral talks. In such a situation, there is very little opportunity left for him to speak to a Pakistani leader.
A four-member Indian delegation has arrived in Pakistan.
03:55October 16, 2024
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan says: This is a good opportunity
Regarding Jaishankar’s visit, former caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar said his visit to Islamabad was historic. This can create an opportunity for dialogue between the two countries. However, he also said he did not expect bilateral negotiations between the two countries.
Kakar said the two countries should begin negotiations without delay. When asked why Pakistan had not proposed a meeting, Kakar said it could harm the government. Imran Khan’s PTI party can benefit from this.
03:55October 16, 2024
Pakistan tour after 8 years and 10 months
Foreign Minister Jaishankar is the first Indian leader to visit Pakistan after 8 years and 10 months. That’s why this tour is special. Previously, on December 25, 2015, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Pakistan. Modi then arrived in Lahore for a surprise visit.
He met Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Since his visit, no Indian prime minister or minister has visited Pakistan.
In 2016, just a year after Modi’s visit, four terrorists entered the Indian Army’s brigade headquarters in Uri. 19 Indian Army soldiers were martyred in this attack.
Since then, tensions have increased in relations between the two countries. After the removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, relations between the two countries further deteriorated. However, despite all this, Bilawal Bhutto, the then foreign minister of Pakistan, had come to India last year to participate in the meeting of foreign ministers of SCO countries in Goa.
What makes India and Pakistan put aside their mutual enmity and attend its meetings… Answers to 3 important questions related to the organization.
Bilawal and Jaishankar did not even shake hands at the foreign ministers’ meeting held in Goa.
03:54October 16, 2024
Why was it necessary to create SCO?
In 1991, the Soviet Union split into several parts. After that, a border dispute arose between Russia’s neighboring countries due to the non-establishment of the border. To prevent this dispute from taking the form of war, Russia felt the need to form an organization.
Russia also feared that China would occupy the lands of small Soviet Union member countries bordering it. Faced with such a situation, Russia formed an organization in 1996 with China and the former Soviet countries. It was announced in the Chinese city of Shanghai, hence the name of the organization Shanghai Five. Initially, the 5 member countries of this organization included Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
When the border conflicts between these countries were resolved, it took the form of an international organization. In 2001, another country, Uzbekistan, announced its intention to join these five countries, after which it was named the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, namely the SCO.
03:53October 16, 2024
India had refused to join the SCO
After the establishment of the SCO, India was also invited to join it. However, at the time, India refused to participate.
Meanwhile, China has launched a campaign for Pakistan to become a member of this organization. For this reason, Russia began to fear China’s growing influence within the organization. Russia then advised India to join this organization.
After that, in 2017, India became a permanent member of this organization. There are 5 more reasons why India joins this organization
India’s trade was increasing with SCO member countries, so to improve relations with this organization, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is important if India is to increase its reach in Central Asia. The reason is that all Central Asian countries sit together in this organization. India does not have any other organization to present its position on Afghanistan. If India is to decide its role in Afghanistan, it needs the cooperation of all these countries. To end the problem of terrorism and drugs, India needs cooperation from SCO countries. Central Asian countries should also join this organization. . He did not want small countries so that only China and Russia dominated the organization. For this, he wanted India to be a balancing power.
03:52October 16, 2024
Main objective and work of the SCO
Its focus changed when the SCO countries resolved the border dispute. Now its main objective was to save the member countries from three types of evils
separatismterrorismreligious fundamentalism
Russia believes that fundamentalist thinking should not develop in neighboring countries. Due to their proximity to Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran, terrorist organizations also began to develop in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, such as the IMU, i.e. the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and HUT in Kyrgyzstan. In such a situation, Russia and China continued to fight against these three kinds of demons through the SCO. Apart from this, the main work of this organization is also to strengthen mutual trust and relations between member countries. This organization strives to increase cooperation among member countries in areas such as politics, trade, economics, science, technology, energy and environmental protection.