International Relations and Current Affairs
Submitted by: Ayesha Zameer
Submitted to: Ma’am Sumiya
Roll number: 2211078(BBA VIII A)
Assignment #01
Question:
How does Jaishankar’s participation to the upcoming summit e.g. SCO is
significant for Indo-Pak relations? Do you think Indian foreign minister will
stress upon peaceful Indo-Pak relations?
Jaishankar’s attendance at the SCO summit is important as the summit offers a
multilateral forum where India and Pakistan are indirectly to discuss issues of common
regional concerns, including security, countering terrorism, and connectivity. In any event,
as members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization with stakeholders such as Russia
and China, the setting would be important in building a level of regional cooperation.
Important Takeaways:
1. Multilateral Engagement:
Given the escalation of tensions in bilateral relations, particularly over terrorism and
the Kashmir dispute, the direct India-Pakistan interactions have, of late, been largely
conspicuous by their absence. Forums like SCO provide India and Pakistan with an
opportunity to engage in a less than direct but, hopefully, constructive manner.
2. Indian Approach:
India has been a participant of discussions on regional security, economic
cooperation and antiterrorism programs. She remains an unrelenting advocate of
the fact that the terrorism sponsored from Pakistani soil should be checked before
any meaningful dialogue can take place between the two countries. One might
expect Jaishankar, with this agenda, to anchor his proposal on these issues and
prefer a more holistic regional approach than dwelling only on the subject at hand:
Indo-Pak relations.
3. Pakistan’s Perspective:
Pakistan may get an opportunity through the summit that it has conveyed this
message and India needs to hold dialogue, which may help Pakistan to step into
peaceful relations with India as well. On the other hand, India has said on a number
of occasions that the burden of peace is definitely on Pakistan and its approach
towards terrorism.
4. Indirect Impact on Relations:
Although Jaishankar might not stress over Indo-Pak peace directly, his attendance in
the SCO summit and India’s entry into it will certainly influence the relations
between the two states indirectly. The platform promotes cooperation on shared
regional interests, which may make the tensions easing in the long term more
feasible. Furthermore, the inclusion of other significant states such as Russia and
China may silently impose an obligation on India and Pakistan to keep at least a
minimum level of dialogue on multilateral issues.
• Conclusion: Jaishankar’s attendance to the SCO summit is indispensable for Indo-
Pak but by no means necessary over immediate or direct talk on peace. It is more
likely that India and Pakistan would place relative priority on regional stability and
counter-terrorism in the structure of the SCO rather than bilateral affairs. While
Jaishankar is not likely to be at the forefront of an agenda aimed at peace, this
summit’s multilateral nature would mean shared responsibility toward regional
cooperation, which serves as a foundation for less hostile relations in the future. So,
while the importance of Jaishankar lies more in the subtle influence these
multilateral engagements could have on the regional dynamics and thereby on Indo-
Pak relations, he is not likely to be the main driver of diplomacy towards Pakistan.
