Daily Times

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will visit Pakistan to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit later this month, the Indian foreign ministry spokesman said on Friday.

“The external affairs minister will lead a delegation to Pakistan to participate in the SCO Summit which will be held on October 15 and 16,” Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly press briefing.

The visit will be the first by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in nearly a decade.

Meanwhile, the federal government Friday approved the deployment of Pakistan Army’s troops in Islamabad under Article 245 of the Constitution in a bid to ensure law and order situation during the forthcoming summit

Islamabad is all set to host the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting on October 15 and 16 with major foreign leaders, including Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visiting the country.

According to the notification, a “requisite strength” of the Pakistan Army, in aid of civil power, will be deployed from Oct 5 to 17 to maintain law and order situation with respect to SCO moot and visits of VVIP delegations for the said meeting. “The exact area of deployment along with an additional number of troops, if the requirement arises, will be worked out by Islamabad administration in consultation with concerned stakeholders,” it stated.

The federal government had approved a comprehensive plan to ensure foolproof security during the forthcoming huddle of regional leaders.

During the recent meeting, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said that additional personnel from the Pakistan Army, Rangers, Frontier Corps (FC), and Punjab police will be deployed for security duties at the SCO moot.

In July this year, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Baloch said that the summit would feature a ministerial huddle along with multiple meetings of senior officials to foster cooperation in finance, economics, socio-cultural affairs and humanitarian efforts among member states.

The SCO, comprising India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is a crucial multilateral platform, primarily for regional security and collaboration with Central Asian nations.

Pakistan had extended invitations to all the government heads of the SCO member states, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for the upcoming CHG meeting in Islamabad, Baloch had said.