Government backs SCO connectivity, but PM's Pakistan visit uncertain
Pakistan's terror support key factor for India
India's participation in the SCO meeting of national coordinators in Islamabad has raised questions about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's potential visit to Pakistan for the heads of state summit next year. While Modi has attended six out of the seven in-person summits since India joined the Eurasian bloc in 2017, his past attendance does not guarantee a visit to the country often described as a serial practitioner of terrorism by India.
Additional Secretary Alok Dimri visited Pakistan for the national coordinators' meeting, marking the first such trip since the 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack. India will consider Pakistan's continued support for cross-border terrorism before deciding on a PM visit, as well as for upcoming defense and foreign minister meetings. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will soon invite leaders of all member states to the SCO heads of state summit, which Pakistan will chair after Kyrgyzstan's term ended last month.
Modi, who missed the Kazakhstan summit in 2024, will weigh various geopolitical factors before deciding on a potential visit to Pakistan, including India's engagement with the SCO for normalizing relations with China, maintaining strategic ties with Russia, and advancing counterterrorism and security cooperation.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
