NEW DELHI: After India Friday announced foreign minister S Jaishankar 's participation in SCO heads of govt meet in Islamabad, the minister scotched speculation about a possible bilateral meeting with his counterpart Ishaq Dar on the sidelines, saying he's not going to Pakistan to discuss India-Pakistan ties .
Jaishankar's visit to Islamabad on Oct 15-16 will be the first by any foreign minister to Pakistan since his predecessor Sushma Swaraj travelled to the country for a multilateral event. Swaraj, however, had an engagement with her counterpart and agreed to resume dialogue process. Jaishankar made it clear Saturday that he had no such intentions, as he again accused Pakistan of sponsoring cross-border terrorism and of preventing SAARC summit process from moving forward.
"The visit will be for a multilateral event. I'm not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations. I'm going there to be a good member of SCO," he said, addressing an event in Delhi, while acknowledging the huge media interest in his visit to Pakistan. "But, you know, since I'm a courteous and civil person, I will behave myself accordingly," he said.
Jaishankar didn't have a bilateral meeting with his then Pakistan counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari when the latter visited India last year for a meeting of SCO foreign ministers. As host, Islamabad has also not proposed any bilateral meeting with India on the sidelines of the upcoming event.
"I am scheduled to go to Pakistan in the middle of this month. And that is for a meeting of SCO heads of govt. Normally, the PM goes to the high-level meeting with heads of state. That's in line with the tradition. The meeting is happening in Islamabad this year as it happens to be a new member of the grouping, much like us," said the minister.
The minister said that despite the global view that terrorism is unacceptable, Pakistan continues to support it and if such is the case, then there must be consequences.
"It cannot be business as usual in the region. This is the reason why SAARC meets haven't taken place in recent times. However, it doesn't mean that regional activities have stopped. In fact, in last 5-6 years, we have seen far more regional integration in the Indian subcontinent. Today, if you look at our relationships with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, you will see railway lines being restored, roads being rebuilt, and electricity grids being constructed," he added.
Jaishankar's visit to Islamabad on Oct 15-16 will be the first by any foreign minister to Pakistan since his predecessor Sushma Swaraj travelled to the country for a multilateral event. Swaraj, however, had an engagement with her counterpart and agreed to resume dialogue process. Jaishankar made it clear Saturday that he had no such intentions, as he again accused Pakistan of sponsoring cross-border terrorism and of preventing SAARC summit process from moving forward.
"The visit will be for a multilateral event. I'm not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations. I'm going there to be a good member of SCO," he said, addressing an event in Delhi, while acknowledging the huge media interest in his visit to Pakistan. "But, you know, since I'm a courteous and civil person, I will behave myself accordingly," he said.
Jaishankar didn't have a bilateral meeting with his then Pakistan counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari when the latter visited India last year for a meeting of SCO foreign ministers. As host, Islamabad has also not proposed any bilateral meeting with India on the sidelines of the upcoming event.
"I am scheduled to go to Pakistan in the middle of this month. And that is for a meeting of SCO heads of govt. Normally, the PM goes to the high-level meeting with heads of state. That's in line with the tradition. The meeting is happening in Islamabad this year as it happens to be a new member of the grouping, much like us," said the minister.
The minister said that despite the global view that terrorism is unacceptable, Pakistan continues to support it and if such is the case, then there must be consequences.
"It cannot be business as usual in the region. This is the reason why SAARC meets haven't taken place in recent times. However, it doesn't mean that regional activities have stopped. In fact, in last 5-6 years, we have seen far more regional integration in the Indian subcontinent. Today, if you look at our relationships with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, you will see railway lines being restored, roads being rebuilt, and electricity grids being constructed," he added.
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