NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is likely to interface with his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto on Thursday in Tashkent at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting.
“Since the new coalition government was sworn in Pakistan on April 11, there hasn’t been any high-level meeting between the two countries. It is premature to say what and whether they would talk about border issues and terrorism. Diplomatic relations between the two nations have been low and one will have to wait whether the two speak on the sidelines of the meeting,” said a source.
Bilawal Bhutto in the recent past has condemned the trial of Kashmiri separatist Yasin Malik. He said though his country would like to normalise ties with India, the environment was not conducive. This will be the second time in a week that India and Pakistan will sit across the table.
The first took place at the ongoing Tashkent Conference on Afghanistan which is being attended by diplomats from 20 countries that include India, the UK, the EU, Iran, Italy, Spain, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China, Norway, Pakistan, Russia, the US, Turkey and Japan.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tashkent said the main objective behind the event was to promote stability, security, post-conflict reconstruction in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, during the upcoming SCO foreign ministers meeting Dr Jaishankar will also meet his counterpart from China, Wang Yi.
“The situation in eastern Ladakh along the LAC is likely to figure in their conversation. A disengagement process and an end to the military standoff is what India has been constantly urging China,” said the source.