External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday engaged in small talk with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, hours after landing in the Pakistani capital in the first visit from India in nearly a decade that came amid frosty ties between the two neighbours.
The handshaking moment and brief talk between Jaishankar and Sharif occurred at a banquet dinner by the Pakistani prime minister at his residence for the delegates who attended a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
No indication, however, came that there was some thawing in the strained relations between the two.
Interestingly, there was Indian classical dance form 'Bharatanatyam' as part of the performances presented at the reception during dinner reception, people familiar with the matter said.
The Pakistan prime minister greets all the leaders of the delegations of the SCO member nations at the banquet reception. Sharif and the leaders of the SCO delegations had dinner at a large table.
It is understood that Jaishankar also received Pakistan foreign minister Ishaq Dar at the reception.
The SCO meeting is being hosted by Pakistan under tight security and the capital city has almost been under lockdown. The main conclave will be held on Wednesday.
Earlier, Jaishankar's aircraft landed at the Nur Khan airbase on the outskirts of the Pakistani capital city at around 3:30 pm (local time) and he was greeted by senior Pakistani officials.
It is for the first time in nearly nine years that India's foreign minister has travelled to Pakistan when the ties between the two neighbours still remained tense over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
External affairs minister to attend SCO Council of Heads of Government summit on Wednesday. He will lead for India. "Landed in Islamabad to take part in SCO Council of Heads of Government Meeting, In the pictures, the children at the airport with bouquets and the officials showering flowers on him in Islamabad - Jaishankar.
The last Indian Foreign Minister to have visited Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj. She had travelled to Islamabad in order to attend the 'Heart of Asia' conference on Afghanistan that was held on December 8 to 9 in 2015.
At the time, Jaishankar was India's foreign secretary and was part of Swaraj's delegation.
During the visit, Swaraj had met with then Pakistan counterpart Sartaj Aziz.
In post-Swaraj-Aziz talks, a joint statement was issued in which both the nations announced their decision to initiate a Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue.
Little over two weeks after Swaraj's trip, Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprised everyone with a 150-minute visit to Lahore on way back home from Kabul.
Modi visited the ancestral home of his then Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif and had talks to open ways for peace.
However, a series of terror attacks on India by Pakistan-based terrorists put a severe strain on the relations after that.
Before Jaishankar's departure to Pakistan, India on Tuesday said it remains actively engaged in all mechanisms of SCO.
"The SCO CHG meeting is held annually and focuses on the trade and economic agenda of the Organisation, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will attend the meeting. India remains actively engaged in the SCO format, including various mechanisms and initiatives within the SCO framework, it said in a brief statement in New Delhi.
The two sides have already dismissed any bilateral talks between Jaishankar and Dar on the sidelines of the SCO summit.
The junior minister said this during a speech at the recently held event, wherein he said, "like with any neighbour, India would certainly like to have good relations with Pakistan." "But that cannot happen by overlooking cross-border terrorism and indulging in wishful thinking." The delegation of the senior minister is considered a show of India's commitment to SCO.
Relations between India and Pakistan were seriously strained after Indian warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack.
The relations further deteriorated after India on August 5, 2019, announced the withdrawal of special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two union territories.
Pakistan downgraded its diplomatic relations with India after New Delhi revoked Article 370.
India maintains, on the other hand, it wants to have normal neighborly relations with Pakistan but clearly makes it emphatic that the ball remains in Islamabad's court to create an environment minus terror and enmity for the purpose.
Pakistan's former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was in India in May 2023 to attend the in-person conclave of SCO nations foreign ministers in Goa.
It was the first visit of a Pakistani foreign minister to India in nearly 12 years.
Read also| Indian Agents Used Various Entities in Canada and Abroad to Gather Information, RCMP
Read also| US to Station THAAD Missile System in Israel Amid Escalating Tensions with Iran
