Pak announces minister Musadik Malik would attend SCO meeting in India

Islamabad, Nov 14 (PTI) Pakistan announced on Saturday that Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik would participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Civilisational Dialogue in India later this month.

     The key meeting of the SCO nations would be held in New Delhi from November 20-22.

     India had announced on October 28 that invitations had been extended to all SCO members in keeping with established practice.

     According to the Pakistan Foreign Office, the event would bring representatives from SCO member states to discuss issues related to civilisational dialogue and cultural understanding.

     “The government of Pakistan remains committed to promoting dialogue among civilisations and fostering people-to-people contacts within the SCO framework in a spirit of mutual respect,” the statement said.

     Musadik Malik is a key minister who frequently appears on talk shows to present the official version of the government.

     His participation in the event hosted by India shows that Pakistan wants to ease tensions with India to pave the way for its leadership to participate in the SCO summit being held in Islamabad next year.

     Ties between the two countries have been strained following the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 people, and India's subsequent launch of Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

     The military confrontation lasted four days and ended on May 10 following an understanding between the military officials of the two countries.

     India has consistently raised the issue of cross-border terrorism at the SCO, maintaining that the grouping must adopt a united approach against terrorism and its financing, without double standards.

     SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and security intergovernmental bloc comprising India, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and Belarus.

     In October 2024, Islamabad hosted the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting, which Minister for External Affairs S Jaishan­kar attended on behalf of his prime minister.

     India last month sent its SCO National Coordinator Alok Dimri to Islamabad for a preparatory meeting for the next SCO Council of Heads of State.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)