Is PM Modi visiting Pakistan for SCO Summit? Here’s MEA’s response

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated on Friday that they do not have an update regarding the invitation extended by Pakistan to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Islamabad later this year.

"Yes, we have received an invitation from Pakistan for the SCO meeting. We don’t have an update on that. We will let you know the situation later,” said MEA spokesperson Jaiswal during the weekly press conference.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had earlier invited Prime Minister Modi to the SCO summit. The SCO, which includes India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, is a significant economic and security bloc.

Pakistan, holding the rotating chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG), will host the two-day summit on October 15-16. Invitations have been sent to all heads of member states, including PM Modi.

India hosted the SCO Summit virtually last year, with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attending via video link. The two countries have a long history of strained relations due to the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism from Pakistan.

India has maintained that it desires normal relations with Pakistan but insists that the onus is on Islamabad to create a terror-free and hostility-free environment for engagement.

Pakistan downgraded its diplomatic ties with India after the Indian Parliament abrogated Article 370 on August 5, 2019.