FILE PHOTO: India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar speaks during a joint press conference with Japan's Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong at Iikura Guest House in Tokyo, Japan July 29, 2024. Tomohiro Ohsumi/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

India’s External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, clarified on Saturday (5 October) that his upcoming visit to Islamabad is solely for the purpose of attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2024, and dismissed any speculation about discussions regarding India-Pakistan relations during the trip.

Jaishankar will be the first External Affairs Minister to visit Pakistan since Sushma Swaraj visited it in 2015. In August 2016, Rajnath Singh, the then Union Home Minister, had visited Pakistan.

India announced on Friday that Jaishankar will represent the country at the SCO meeting in Islamabad during October 15-16, making him the first foreign minister to travel to Pakistan since 2015

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

India's foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will visit Pakistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit on Oct. 15-16. He clarified that the visit will focus on the summit and not on India-Pakistan bilateral relations.