India foreign minister lands in Pakistan

AFP | Islamabad

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Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar arrived in Pakistan yesterday for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, the first top Delhi diplomat to visit their neighbour in nearly a decade.

Jaishankar’s plane landed just before 3:30 pm (1030 GMT) at an airbase near the capital Islamabad, a foreign office official said, as state TV showed him receiving a bouquet of flowers from a host delegation that did not include any senior ministers.

Indian government spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said this month the agenda of Jaishankar’s visit would strictly follow the SCO schedule, which is due to discuss trade, humanitarian and social issues.

“The Indian foreign minister has not requested a bilateral meeting, nor have we extended an invitation to them,” Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Sunday