Indian foreign minister promises to ‘behave himself’ on rare Pakistan visit

Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar has said that he will “behave himself” during his upcoming trip to Pakistan, marking the first visit by a top official to the rival country in almost a decade.

New Delhi confirmed that Mr Jaishankar will travel to Islamabad on 15-16 October for the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, or SCO, a transregional grouping led by China, in place of prime minister Narendra Modi.

The visit marks a significant moment in regional diplomacy as relations between the rival neighbours have remained tense since they gained independence from the British in 1947.

In spite of periods of relative peace and normalcy, the animosity has grown over the years with the two nations fighting multiple wars and frequently suspending trade and cultural ties.

Relations have been almost frozen since India carried out crossborder airstrikes in Pakistan in early 2019, a few weeks after a car bombing killed at least 46 Indian paramilitary personnel in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Speaking about his maiden visit to Islamabad, Mr Jaishankar emphasised that the agenda is not to address bilateral issues. “It will be for a multilateral event. I’m not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations. I’m going there to be a good member of the SCO,” he said.

“But, you know, since I’m a courteous and civil person, I will behave myself accordingly.”

He made the remarks on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi on Saturday. “I am scheduled to go to Pakistan in the middle of this month for the SCO Summit. Normally, the prime minister would have gone,” he said.

Although Mr Jaishankar downplayed expectations of a discussion on bilateral relations, the mere presence of Indian and Pakistani leaders in the same room is likely to attract attention.

Observers see this as a moment for cautious optimism as multilateral platforms often serve as conduits for behind-the-scenes engagements, even in the absence of formal dialogue.

Michael Kugelman, senior programme associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre, argued that the significance of the visit for India-Pakistan relations “shouldn’t be overlooked”.

“2019 was a disastrous year for India-Pakistan relations. 2020 brought the pandemic. 2021 yielded a new LoC truce, which has helped keep ties relatively stable–a cold peace–despite continued tensions,” he said.

“It’s in this environment that Jaishankar’s visit was able to go forward.”

The last Indian foreign minister who visited Pakistan was the late Sushma Swaraj. She attended the Heart of Asia Conference in December 2015 and her visit was followed by Mr Modi’s surprise stopover in Lahore where he met then prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Pakistan’s then foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited India last year to attend a SCO ministerial meeting in Goa. He and Mr Jaishankar exchanged heated statements at the main event and did n0t hold any bilateral talks.

The SCO was founded by China, Russia and four Central Asian countries in 2001 in Shanghai. It has since expanded to include nine member states in Eurasia. The summit agenda of the SCO is typically focused on issues such as regional security, counterterrorism, and economic cooperation.