Jaishankar hails Pakistan’s hospitality

ISLAMABAD: Thaw appears to have set in the frigid Pakistan-India diplomatic relations after the Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar here on Wednesday.

The visiting Indian foreign minister is believed to have discussed cricket with his Pakistani counterpart.

According to Indian media, Jaishankar took a morning walk on the premises of the high commission with colleagues. He also planted a sapling.

Jaishankar thanked Shehbaz, Ishaq Dar and the Government of Pakistan for the ‘hospitality and courtesies’ during the summit. Jaishankar was the first foreign minister of the neighbouring nation to have visited Pakistan in nearly a decade.

Hours after the conclusion of the two-day regional huddle, Jaishankar wrote on his X handle: “Departing from Islamabad. Thank PM @CMShehbaz , DPM & FM @MIshaqDar50 and the Government of Pakistan for the hospitality and courtesies.”

Meanwhile, sources told Geo News that Dar and Jaishankar had a brief exchange during the lunch hosted for the leaders attending the SCO summit. Sources, however, said the details of the discussions between the top officials could not be revealed at this time.

However, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar termed the meeting an ‘ice-breaker’. “Neither us nor them requested for a bilateral meeting… but I believe his arrival here is an ice-breaker,” AFP quoted the information minister as saying. “Yesterday, when all the leaders were being welcomed and there were handshakes, I think positive images were sent out globally.”

Indian FM Jaishankar and PM Shehbaz greeted each other with a handshake at the start of an official dinner for the visiting leaders of the SCO bloc on Tuesday. Relations between India and Pakistan have been particularly sour since 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked the limited autonomy of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Jaishankar, in another X post, said a productive meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government concluded in Islamabad today. “Signed eight outcome documents. India made a positive and constructive contribution to the deliberations.”

Meanwhile, in a televised statement, Tarar said the law will take its course against those hurling threats of arson, reports PPI.

He regretted that the PTI started issuing threats concerning the constitutional amendments and said strict action would be taken if anyone tried to harm the lives and property of the people.

Referring to the successful conduct of the SCO meeting, Tarar said the visiting dignitaries appreciated Pakistan’s role in the region.

He further said Pakistan’s economic indicators were improving and that there will be more good news for the public in the coming days. He was confident that hosting the SCO meeting will yield long-term benefits for the country.