S Jaishankar, whose delegation heads to Islamabad next week, had to be on the same page, so he said that his visit was indeed for a multilateral event.
Pakistan has ruled out holding a bilateral meeting with New Delhi at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, which External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will attend.
Jaishankar, who is scheduled to head a delegation to Islamabad next week, also said his trip was for a multilateral function.
The significance of this visit also lies in the fact that it would be the first-ever visit by an Indian External Affairs Minister to Pakistan in nine years; the last one is said to have been that of Sushma Swaraj in 2015.
Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, when asked about Jaishankar’s visit, said, “I would like you to refer to the remarks made.
Minister for External Affairs on October 5, in which he maintained that his visit was meant for a multilateral event and not for discussing Pakistan-India relations. These remarks are self-explanatory.”
Last week, Jaishankar had categorically said that talks on India-Pakistan issues were not on the table during his visit to Islamabad on 15 and 16 October.
Speaking to a gathering, Jaishankar said, “I am slated to go to Pakistan mid-this month for a meeting of the SCO Heads of Government.
I am not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations. 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.”
