New Delhi, Oct. 4: External Affairs Minister of India S Jaishankar will travel to Pakistan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government meeting on October 15 and 16.

According to the Indian Media, Jaishankar’s visit to Islamabad comes amid a long history of strained relations between the two nations, primarily due to the Kashmir issue as well as the cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

The last Indian external affairs minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj. She had travelled to Islamabad in December 2015 to attend a conference on Afghanistan.

The SCO heads of government level meeting is usually attended by Prime Ministers.

Pakistan holds the rotating chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government (CHG), and in that capacity, is hosting the two-day in-person meeting.

Earlier in August, Pakistan had invited India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the SCO’s Council of Heads of Government meeting in October.

The SCO council of heads of government level is the second-highest body in the grouping. In the last seven years, since 2017, India has been represented at the level of External Affairs Minister or Defence Minister. External Affairs minister S Jaishankar participated in Bishkek last year. In 2020, when India hosted the SCO head of government level meeting virtually, Pakistan was represented by Pakistan’s Parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs.

The SCO, comprising India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is an influential economic and security bloc that has emerged as one of the largest trans-regional international organisations.