Pak sending 'experienced' minister for Delhi event

NewsIndia NewsPak sending 'experienced' minister for Delhi event NEW DELHI: Pakistan announced on Saturday that it will participate in the inaugural Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Civilisational Dialogue, scheduled to be held in New Delhi from November 20 to 22.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had proposed the dialogue at the SCO summit in Tianjin in 2025.The last visit by a Pakistani minister to India was in May 2023, when then Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari travelled to Goa to attend a meeting of SCO foreign ministers.

This will also be the first ministerial visit between the two countries since the Pahalgam terror attack last year.Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Musadik Masood Malik, Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, will lead the country’s delegation to the dialogue.India had invited culture minister Aurangzeb Khichi for the event.

Musadik Masood Malik, federal minister for climate change and environmental coordination, will lead the team. He however, is considered a more experienced minister in the Pakistan govt. "The event will bring together representatives from SCO member states to exchange views on issues related to civilisational dialogue and cultural understanding," said Pakistan in its announcement, adding that Islamabad remains committed to promoting dialogue among civilisations and fostering people-to-people ties within the SCO framework in a spirit of mutual respect.

After Bilawal's visit in 2023, external affairs minister S Jaishankar had visited Pakistan the next year, again for a meeting of SCO foreign ministers. On both occasions, there was no bilateral meeting between the ministers.Even in the absence of any substantive bilateral engagement for over a decade, both countries have continued to interact within the Eurasian bloc which they both joined as full members in 2017.Join conversation InsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig Development Pakistan currently holds the SCO presidency and will host the heads of state summit next year.

In the current circumstances, Modi's participation in it is unlikely as India's position - that talks and terror can't go hand in hand - has hardened further after the Pahalgam attack. Get the latest India News and Live updates.

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