India invites Pakistan Foreign Minister for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Goa

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India invites Pakistan Foreign Minister for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Goa
India invites Pakistan Foreign Minister for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Goa

New Delhi : A couple of days after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan has learned its lesson and he desires to sit with PM Narendra Modi to normalize India-Pakistan relations and hold talk over Kashmir issue, India has sent an invitation to Pakistan to attend the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting, which is likely to be held in the first week of May 2023.

The invitation has been sent from External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar via the Indian High Commission in Islamabad for his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to visit Goa. So far, no reply of acceptance or rejection has been received from the Indian neighbour.

The expected dates for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Goa are May 4 to May 5.

Pakistan has come under a situation where accepting or rejecting the invitation will put the nation amidst a lot of questions. Meanwhile, if Pakistan accepts the invite, then this will be for the first time in last 12 years when a Pakistani Foreign Minister will visit India. The last Pakistani Foreign Minister to visit India was Hina Rabbani Khar in July 2011.

If Pakistan rejects the invite, then it will be a mere shame for PM Shehbaz Sharif who made wide claims that the nation has learned its lesson and wants to hold peace talks with India.

In an interview to Al-Arabiya channel last week, Sharif said: "We have had three wars with India, and they have only brought more misery, poverty, and unemployment to the people. We have learnt our lesson, and we want to live in peace with India, provided we are able to resolve our genuine problems."

Apart from India and Pakistan, the SCO includes China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Similar invitations have been sent to the foreign ministers of China and Russia along with the Central Asian countries.

Imran Khan on India

Soon after Shehbaz Sharif's statement came over peace talks, former Prime Minister Imran Khan lambasted Mr Sharif and said that he has shamed Pakistan on the world stage. As India's stand remains same that if you want to have peace talks then do something to reduce terrorism. 

In December last year, Jaishankar slammed Pakistan for being the “epicentre of terrorism” and Bhutto criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the 2002 Gujarat riots. The Ministry of External Affairs called Bhutto’s comments “uncivilised” and a “new low, even for Pakistan”.

In such a scenario, it will be interesting to see if Bhutto will visit India in the coming days.