SCO Summit 2024: Jaishankar, Shehbaz Sharif shake hands ahead of meet, Bilawal Bhutto pitches for Indo-Pak talks

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday shook hands and exchanged greetings during an informal dinner hosted by the latter. Jaishankar is in Islamabad to attend the two-day-long Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). 

This, however, was no indication of a thaw in the strained ties between India and Pakistan. Shehbaz Sharif greeted all the leaders of the delegations of the SCO member nations at the banquet reception. Jaishankar also exchanged pleasantries with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar. 

Meanwhile, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari pressed for bilateral talks with India on the sidelines of the SCO summit even as both the sides ruled out such a possibility.

In an interview with Pakistan's ARY News, Bhutto Zardari asked: "Why be so rigid?", while adding that India and Pakistan should consider a bilateral talk on the sidelines of the SCO summit. 

"A conversation is necessary, whether today or tomorrow. Even if it is not in the context of the SCO, both countries have to resume bilateral talks sooner or later."

Jaishankar in Pakistan: Top 10 developments so far

1. Jaishankar's aircraft landed at the Nur Khan airbase on the outskirts of Islamabad at around 03:30 pm on Tuesday, where he was greeted by senior Pakistani officials. 
2. Before leaving for Pakistan, S Jaishankar said that India remains actively engaged in various mechanisms of the SCO. "The SCO CHG meeting is held annually and focuses on the trade and economic agenda of the Organisation," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
3. While pressing for talks, Bhutto acknowledged that terrorism is a reality. 
4. "Terrorism is also a reality, whether they  blame us  and we blame them but the issue exists, so if we engage, we will somehow reach a common point and save precious India and Pakistan lives," said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
5. Pakistan's former interim PM Anwaar-ul-Hq Kakar on Tuesday said that there is a "deep appetite" in Pakistan to see improvement in its relation with India. 
6. Kakar said Pakistani military and political parties seek forward movement in India-Pakistan ties but at the same time, there is a realisation of the ground realities. 
7. Both India and Pakistan have ruled out the possibility of any bilateral talks between Jaishankar and Ishaq Dar on the sidelines of the SCO summit.  
8. Jaishankar said at a recent event: "Like with any neighbour, India would certainly like to have good relations with Pakistan. But that cannot happen by overlooking cross-border terrorism and indulging in wishful thinking."
9. This is the first time in around 9 years that an Indian foreign minister has visited Pakistan as the ties between the two neighbours remain cold over the issue of cross-border terrorism. 
10. The last Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan was late Sushma Swaraj. She went to Islamabad to attend the 'Heart of Asia' conference on Afghanistan held on December 8-9, 2015. Jaishankar, then India's foreign secretary, was a part of Swaraj's delegation.