Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari claimed that it was well nigh impossible to hold meaningful talks after the bilateral spat with Indian External Affairs Minister Mr. S. Jaishankar at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Council for Foreign Ministers (SCO-CFM) meeting in Goa. Bhutto was called out as a “promoter, justifier, and spokesperson” of terrorism by Mr. Jaishankar, the chairman of the meeting.
While advocating for the restoration of the Union Territory to statehood according to the resolution of the Indian Government passed in 2019, Zardari also added that Pakistan PM Shebaz Shareefs’ travel to India in July to attend the SCO summit had not been finalized yet.
The SCO-CFM Summit
An agreement to improve collaboration in a number of areas, including the economic and technological spheres, was reached at the SCO-CFM summit. In announcing the outcomes of the ministers’ discussions, Mr. Jaishankar said India’s proposals were being discussed, including adding English as a third official language to the SCO’s existing ones of Chinese and Russian and creating working groups on innovation, start-ups, and traditional medicines.
The ministers came to an agreement on a 15-point decision document that will be presented at the SCO Heads of State Summit, scheduled for July 3–4 in Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host the Presidents of Russia, China, the Central Asian states- Iran and Belarus, which are to be inducted into the SCO at that summit, as well as the PM of Pakistan.
“Wake up and smell the coffee”
The customary greetings and welcome to SCO-CFM by the Chairman of the Meeting, Mr. S. Jaishankar, were followed by the speeches of the respective foreign ministers of India and Pakistan. Both ministers traded subtle accusations in their speech over terrorism crossing the borders of Pakistan and the amendment to Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, giving it the status of a Union Territory and further bifurcating it into the Union Territory of Ladakh and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Earlier, addressing the SCO meeting, Mr. Bhutto called on members not to “weaponize terrorism for diplomatic point scoring.” In reference to the reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir, he also spoke of “unilateral and illegal measures by states in violation of international law and UNSC resolutions.”
Referring to the firing in Rajouri that led to the untimely demise of five Indian soldiers, a visibly seething Mr. Jaishankar responded that Pakistan should “wake up and smell the coffee.” The only issue regarding Kashmir that is currently up for discussion with Pakistan is when they will end their occupation of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Mr. Jaishankar continued, adding that Article 370 is now history.
In addition, he claimed that he was forced to draw a line between welcoming the foreign minister of Pakistan as a member of the SCO and “treating him differently” as a result of Mr. Bhutto’s remarks regarding terrorism. Moreover, he responded to inquiries about Mr. Bhutto’s visit, his remarks at the SCO meeting, and a briefing for Pakistani journalists that was held in Goa.
He also responded to Chinese official statements about “stability” in the Line of Actual Control (LAC), mentioning that Indo-China relations cannot be normalized when peace is volatile.
Bhutto’s unapologetic response
Up until 2019, Pakistan had maintained that it did not acknowledge Article 370. Since the Pulwama suicide bombing in 2019, resulting in the deaths of 40 Indian soldiers, all Indo-Pak ties have been severed in terms of trade and travel, and neither country has a High Commissioner in the other’s capital.
Mr. Bhutto has vehemently denounced all acts of terrorism “from India to the US,” and no Indian official has assigned responsibility for the Poonch attack to Pakistan. However, he brought up the suspects’ acquittals in the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings in India, which resulted in the deaths of Pakistani citizens, and questioned why the government had not pursued the case further. Despite acknowledging that they had previously been “productive,” Mr. Bhutto also denied any back-channel discussions between India and Pakistan currently in progress.
