SCO summit: EAM attends dinner hosted by Pak PM

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar exchanged pleasantries with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday, shortly after arriving in Islamabad for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conclave. The brief interaction took place during a dinner reception hosted by Sharif at his residence to honour the delegates of the SCO member nations.

Jaishankar and Sharif shook hands and exchanged a few words as part of the customary photo session. The Pakistan PM greeted all delegation leaders from SCO member countries.

Jaishankar’s aircraft landed at the Nur Khan airbase on the outskirts of Islamabad around 4 pm (Indian time), where he was welcomed by senior Pakistani officials. Two children presented him with bouquets, a gesture captured in photos that Jaishankar later posted on X, saying, “Landed in Islamabad to take part in SCO Council of Heads of Government Meeting.”

The minister traveled to Pakistan in an Indian Air Force plane from the VVIP fleet. This marks the first visit by an Indian Foreign Minister to Pakistan in nearly nine years, despite ongoing tensions between the two nations over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism.