Bilal Ahmed 
(C)BR,indian foreign minister to attend 2 days sco summit in pakistans capital islamabad
This will be the first visit by any Indian foreign minister in 9 years to Pakistan. Sushma Swaraj was the last minister to visit Islamabad in Dec 2015 just ahead of a surprise stopover by Indian PM Narendra Modi in Lahore.
The present Foreign Minister will represent India at the SCO meeting of Council of Heads of governments to be held in Islamabad on October 15th and 16th. Several governments from the Eurasian panel have agreed to send their representatives for the summit. The Russian and Chinese delegation are to be there along with their Prime Ministers as they were the first to confirm the presence.
The Shehbaz Sharif Govt has invited Indian PM Narendra Modi to be present at the meeting. But given the state of relations both countries are in, it’s unclear whether even Foreign Minister S Jaishankar would be present at the meeting. There has been no confirmed response from the Indian PM office or the Indian External Affairs Ministry but reports suggest India would send a delegation as it does not want to leave the important regional SCO summit unattended.
The world would see a change of policy by New Delhi if Jaishankar attended the upcoming meeting. India has previously avoided being present in Pak soil during SAARC summits previously as they took place in Islamabad.
The current ruling party in Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) has always had friendly ties with New Delhi. The PML-N president and former 3 times Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif congratulated Indian PM Narendra Modi over his re-election of his party and Prime Ministership.
