Hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough between India and Pakistan have been dashed as India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar ruled out discussing bilateral relations with Pakistan during the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. The two countries have been in a deep freeze since a deadly armed attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in 2019.
Jaishankar stated that he will attend the summit from October 15 to 16 as a good member of the SCO, but not to discuss India-Pakistan relations. This comes as Kashmir leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq urged India and Pakistan to “break the ice and engage constructively” at the summit to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
While there were hopes for a breakthrough, experts believe India’s decision to attend the summit in Pakistan is more about fulfilling its SCO commitment rather than improving relations with Pakistan. Relations between the two countries worsened in 2019 after India stripped the limited autonomy granted to Kashmir.
Kashmiris have faced uncertainty for generations, with many pro-freedom leaders, including Farooq, being under house arrest for the past five years. The All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) campaigns for either Kashmir’s merger with Pakistan or the creation of an independent nation.
The SCO, established by Russia and China, includes India, Pakistan, and other Central Asian states. Despite previous attempts at improving relations, the recent elections in Kashmir and New Delhi’s control over the region have raised concerns about the power of the new assembly.
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