SCO Summit: India-Pakistan Are Trying to Create Diplomatic Space For Renewed Bilateral Engagement

SCO Summit: India-Pakistan Are Trying to Create Diplomatic Space For Renewed Bilateral EngagementExternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan this week, the first in nearly a decade, has produced a small but unexpected step towards a long overdue thaw in bilateral relations. Small, because there will be obstacles to overcome before even a limited engagement is put in place in an accident-prone relationship.Unexpected, because both sides had downplayed the prospect for a bilateral dialogue on the margins of a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Islamabad. It was probably a deliberate attempt at reducing the high expectations that accompany any encounter between Indian and Pakistani leaders. There were signals that an effort was on to unfreeze the relationship.Show more