NEW DELHI: A day after Indian media reported that New Delhi invited Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to attend the SCO foreign ministers’ meet, Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar, on Thursday said that there were no backchannel talks held between Islamabad and New Delhi.
“At this moment there is no such thing underway,’’ Khar said, in the upper house of their Parliament. Backchannel diplomacy was desirable when it was result-oriented, Khar pointed out. The foreign ministers’ and chief justices’ meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, is scheduled to take place in Goa in May. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, reiterated that there were no secret diplomatic engagements.
Pakistan has also acknowledged that it has received an invite from India to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organsiation (SCO) foreign ministers meet that is slated to be held in Goa from May 4th to 5th this year. However, they are yet to confirm on whether they would attend the meeting. “The chairs sends invitations to all member states, decision will be taken in due course,’’ Baloch said.
It is yet to be confirmed whether Pakistan’s foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto will attend this event. India took over chairmanship of the nine-member SCO in September 2022 and will hold key ministerial meetings and the Summit this year. Besides the foreign ministers’ meet, India will host SCO Defence, NSA and Interior and environment ministers meet prior to the summit, in September.
The member countries include India, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgzstan, Tajikstan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan. Meanwhile, in the SCO film festival that will take place in Mumbai later this month, Pakistan was the only country amongst all member states that didn’t send their entry – though they were sent an invite.