Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif to Skip India Visit for SCO Meet, to Attend Event Virtually

Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif is likely to skip his India visit and attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting virtually, sources have said.

The defence ministry officials said that there is no confirmation on the Pakistani minister’s arrival, sources familiar with the development said.

They also said that a delegation of the Pakistani Defence Ministry has already arrived in India for the SCO Working Group meeting, scheduled for Wednesday.

However, Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu, Russia’s Sergei Shoigu and their counterparts from the other member countries of the grouping are set to attend the meeting.

India as the chair of SCO in 2023 will host the SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting on 28 April 2023 in New Delhi.

The Defence Ministers will discuss amongst other issues matters concerning regional peace and security, counter terrorism efforts within SCO and an effective multilateralism.

Recently, Pakistan announced the participation of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto in the SCO Foreign Ministers’ meet which is all set to take place in Goa on May 4-5. Pakistan’s foreign minister would be making his first trip to India since 2011.

India had earlier invited Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial for the foreign ministers’ SCO meet, but he skipped it, and Justice Muneeb Akhtar instead attended the meet via video link on March 10-12.

SCO is an intergovernmental organization established in 2001. The SCO membership includes Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan besides India. Apart from the member states, two observer countries Belarus and Iran will also be participating in the SCO Defence Ministers Meeting on 28 April 2023.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will also hold bilateral meetings with the Defence Ministers of participating countries on the side-lines of the SCO Defence Ministers’ Meet.

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