look news india
India-Pak Relation: Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar returned to New Delhi late on Wednesday evening after attending the SCO meeting in Islamabad. Jaishankar stayed in the Pakistani capital for about 24 hours and during this he shook hands with Pakistan PM Shahbaz Sharif twice. The PM attended a dinner hosted by Sharif and during lunch, Jaishankar also held informal talks with Sharif. However, this should not be seen as a major improvement in relations between the two countries.
Jaishankar said- thank you
However, after returning from Islamabad, the Foreign Minister thanked PM Sharif, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and the Government of Pakistan for their hospitality. Pakistan's Foreign Minister also responded to Jaishankar's thanks on social media site X with gratitude.
Such a situation was seen on 25 December 2015, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Suddenly he had reached Lahore to attend a wedding organized at the residence of the then PM Nawaz Sharif. The atmosphere in Islamabad was completely different from the same SCO meeting held in Goa last year. Then Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto had come to Goa to attend the SCO meeting.
Relations were so strained that the two foreign ministers did not even shake hands formally. On the last day of the meeting, Bhutto gave an interview to some Indian media and raised the issue of Kashmir. Later, in the press conference organized to give information about the SCO meeting, S Jaishankar said that the Foreign Minister of Pakistan is the promoter, nurturer and mouthpiece of the terror industry.
The situation in Islamabad looked different.
S Jaishankar had then said that only one thing has to be done with Pakistan regarding Kashmir and that is to take back Pakistan occupied Kashmir. When Bhutto came to India, the prospects of improvement in bilateral relations proved to be opposite. In this respect the atmosphere of Islamabad was completely different.
According to sources, the informal talks between Jaishankar and Pakistan PM should not be seen in the context of improving bilateral relations. During the meal, every leader was talking informally to each other. Even before leaving Islamabad, Jaishankar had said that he is a decent person and I will behave the same there too. He also clarified that the visit is taking place in the context of SCO and should not be linked to bilateral relations.
Relations strained after Pathankot attack
It is noteworthy that after PM Modi's visit in December 2015, there was scope for improvement in relations between India and Pakistan. Joint talks were to resume in January 2016 under the leadership of the foreign secretaries of both countries. But the Pathankot attack by Pakistan-backed terrorists ended all possibilities of improvement in bilateral relations.