India’s Minister for External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday — the first such visit in nearly a decade — as the 23rd summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is set to commence in the evening.
The SCO comprises China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus — with 16 more countries affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners”.
Pakistan became a full member of the SCO at its 2017 summit in Kazakhstan, which was attended by ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, who recently also expressed hope for reviving ties with India.
In his capacity as the current Chair of the Council of the Heads of Government (CHG), Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will preside over the summit.
State-run PTV showed images of Jaishankar being received by the Director General for South Asia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ilyas Mehmood Nizami, and other Pakistani officials after his plane touched down at the Nur Khan Airbase just before 3:30pm.
The Indian minister has said he would not discuss bilateral relations during his visit.
PPP Chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, while speaking to Geo News, said that according to the rules of the SCO, country representatives cannot talk about bilateral issues during the summit.
“There are other forums where countries can talk about their bilateral matters,” Bhutto-Zardari said.
Jaishankar would “represent India at the meeting”, his foreign ministry said on Tuesday, adding that the country “remains actively engaged in the SCO format”.
“Even though it won’t be a fleeting visit as was previously thought, Jaishankar will likely spend not more than 24 hours in Pakistan before flying back to India,” Times of India reported.
From China, Premier Li Qiang will be attending the summit, with his visit to Pakistan being the first by a Chinese premier in 11 years.
China, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will be represented by their prime ministers while Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref will be attending the summit, the Foreign Office has said.
PM Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene of observer state Mongolia and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov of special guest Turkmenistan will also participate in the meeting.
Around noon today, Kyrgyz premier, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Akylbek Japarov, arrived at the Nur Khan Airbase, where he was received by Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik, PTV News reported.
Shortly after, Belarus PM Roman Golovchenko landed at the Islamabad International Airport, where Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar welcomed him.
Tajik premier Kokhir Rasulzoda also landed at the same airport, where Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan greeted him.
FM Meredov of Turkmenistan, who is a special guest at the SCO, was received by Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui at the Islamabad airport, PTV News reported.
Summit programme
According to a programme for the summit released by the foreign ministry, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, today’s main event will be a welcome dinner by the prime minister.
Delegations will continue arriving today as well.
Once all the delegations have arrived, a flurry of activities is planned for throughout the day tomorrow, with the summit proceedings expected in the morning.
According to the programme, the participants will arrive on Wednesday morning at the Jinnah Convention Centre, where they will be received by PM Shehbaz.
After group photos, PM Shehbaz will give his opening remarks, which are set to be followed by statements from other member states. A notable agenda of the day is “documents signing” before the prime minister offers the concluding remarks.
In the afternoon, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming will brief the media about the highlights of the summit. This would be followed by “official luncheons” by PM Shehbaz.
Top-notch security
With the arrival of foreign top officials, the security agencies are determined to prevent any disruptions and have amped up security in Islamabad.
The Army has already been called in to provide security for the event, as well as key government buildings and the Red Zone. Rangers have already been deployed in the capital.
Many businesses and routes in the federal capital and its twin city, Rawalpindi, have been closed due to safety concerns.
The government has deployed more than 10,000 police and paramilitary personnel for the security of about 900 delegates who are set to arrive for the event.
The delegates will stay at different places in the capital located inside the ‘Red Zone’ or in the vicinity, as 14 locations in the capital have been arranged for their accommodation.
A total of 124 vehicles will be deployed for the motorcade, with 84 accompanying the heads of states, and 40 for other delegates.
According to a Dawn report, a four-member delegation from India, 76 delegates from Russia, 15 representatives from China, a two-member team from Iran and a four-member delegation from Kyrgyzstan reached Islamabad on Sunday.
Seven delegates of SCO also arrived in the capital.
Additional input from AFP
