Pakistan invites PM Modi for SCO meet in October, but Islamabad visit unlikely amid tensions
Pakistan has extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with other leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), for the upcoming Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting in October this year, reported The Times of India.
However, it is unlikely that Modi will visit Islamabad, though it remains to be seen if he will delegate a minister to represent India, as has been done in the past, considering the strained relations between the two nations, the report added.
Pakistan is set to host the CHG meeting on October 15-16, as it currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the council, the second most important decision-making body within the SCO, following the Council of Heads of State. While Modi regularly attends the heads of state summits, he skipped the recent one in Kazakhstan due to a scheduling conflict with a Parliament session in early July.
Traditionally, India has sent a minister to represent the country at CHG meetings. Last year, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar attended the CHG gathering in Bishkek. It remains uncertain whether leaders who cannot attend the event in person will be permitted to participate virtually.
Both India and Pakistan are full members of the SCO, a group led by Russia and China, which India views as vital for regional security and collaboration with Central Asian nations.
However, India remains cautious of China's influence within the SCO and its efforts to position the organization as an anti-West platform. Unlike other member states, India has
