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India Sends Official to Pakistan for SCO Meeting
Confirmed
In Short: India sent a senior official to Pakistan this week for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) national coordinators’ meeting, marking the first visit by an Indian official delegation since Operation Sindoor last year.
India sent a senior official to Pakistan this week for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) national coordinators’ meeting, marking the first visit by an Indian official delegation since Operation Sindoor last year. The meeting took place in Islamabad, where Pakistan assumed the presidency following the Bishkek summit on August 31-September 1.
Alok Dimri, a 1998-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, led the Indian delegation. This visit comes amid ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, with Delhi having to engage with Pakistan and China in multilateral formats despite the unfavourable environment.
The US has been seen to side with Pakistan, complicating Delhi's efforts to portray Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism. China, Pakistan's all-weather friend, provided support to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor with weapons and live satellite intelligence.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's military and intelligence officials met with Turkish counterparts in a bid to resolve tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The meeting also discussed arrangements for an urgent meeting of the three countries’ chiefs of staff to consider ways to support Saudi Arabia under the Mecca Agreement.
In a separate development, Pakistan's cricket team faced controversy during a royal engagement in England, with one player reportedly refusing to attend a meeting with King Charles III at Clarence House. The incident occurred after the team suffered consecutive innings defeats in England.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attended a meeting with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan in New York, discussing the activation of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in response to renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.
What this adds
The dates for the PM's potential attendance at the SCO meeting have yet to be announced, and it will be a political call whether the Prime Minister attends.
What's confirmed
- India sent a senior official to Pakistan this week for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) national coordinators’ meeting, marking the first visit by an Indian official delegation since Operation Sindoor last year. The meeting took place in Islamabad, where Pakistan assumed the presidency following the Bishkek summit on August 31-September 1.
- Alok Dimri, a 1998-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, led the Indian delegation. This visit comes amid ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, with Delhi having to engage with Pakistan and China in multilateral formats despite the unfavourable environment.
- The US has been seen to side with Pakistan, complicating Delhi's efforts to portray Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism. China, Pakistan's all-weather friend, provided support to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor with weapons and live satellite intelligence.
- Meanwhile, Pakistan's military and intelligence officials met with Turkish counterparts in a bid to resolve tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The meeting also discussed arrangements for an urgent meeting of the three countries’ chiefs of staff to consider ways to support Saudi Arabia under the Mecca Agreement.
- In a separate development, Pakistan's cricket team faced controversy during a royal engagement in England, with one player reportedly refusing to attend a meeting with King Charles III at Clarence House. The incident occurred after the team suffered consecutive innings defeats in England.
- Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attended a meeting with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan in New York, discussing the activation of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in response to renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.
What's still developing
- The dates are yet to be announced, and whether the PM attends will be a political call.
- Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting and writing explainers and analysis on foreign affairs for about 19 years now.
- PESHAWAR – A vehicle bomb exploded Friday at a mosque near police offices in northwestern Pakistan as gunmen tried to storm the compound in an attack that killed at least 21 people and wounded 80 others, police and rescue officials said.
- Most of those killed were police officers, hospital officials said.
- Bilal Faizi, a senior rescue official, said most of the dead and wounded had been attending prayers at the mosque.
- Friday’s bombing came a day after Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met with Sharif, the Pakistan army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and intelligence chief Lt.
- Kalin said Turkey would continue to make efforts to help resolve the tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan through dialogue, the news agency reported.
- Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson for the Afghan Taliban, said Thursday that top officials in Kabul held talks with Kalin and a senior Qatari security official.
- According to a report in The Telegraph, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had instructed all seven players who were discarded from the squad for the third Test to attend the royal engagement.
- With a smaller group otherwise expected to attend the meeting, the board apparently wanted to avoid an awkward-looking gathering during the royal audience.
- [Mustafa Hatipoğlu – Anadolu Agency] Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan discussed activating the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement at a meeting in New York on Friday, as Houthi attacks target Saudi Arabia and Iran seeks to distance itself from the advances of its allies in Yemen.
- Bayraktaroglu attended the meeting with Pakistan's Chief of Defense Forces and Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and Saudi Chief of General Staff Gen. Fayyadh Bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili, according to Türkiye's General Staff.