India Invited by Pakistan for October SCO Council of Heads of Government Meeting

India has received an invitation from Pakistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government meeting scheduled for October. The Ministry of External Affairs confirmed the invitation but has no further updates. Pakistan's Foreign Office has extended invitations to all member state leaders, including India's PM Modi.

India has received an invitation from Pakistan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government meeting in person, slated for October. The confirmation came from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during a recent media briefing.

Jaiswal stated, "Yes, we have received an invitation from Pakistan for the Council of Heads of Government meeting (SCO meeting) that is to happen. We don't have an update on that. We will let you know what the situation is later." Pakistan, which currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the CHG, is preparing to host the event in Islamabad this October, as reported by Geo News.

According to Geo News, Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch confirmed during a weekly news briefing that invitations have been sent to all heads of government from SCO member states, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Baloch mentioned that some confirmations have already been received for the meeting set for October 15-16.

It's worth noting that the MEA previously denied media reports suggesting that PM Modi would not attend the upcoming SCO summit in Pakistan. Established in 2001, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation includes nine member states and several observer states and dialogue partners. In the 2022 Samarkand Summit, the process to elevate Belarus from observer to member state commenced.

(With inputs from agencies.)