‘Jaishankar’s welcome low level…’, what Pakistani media said about Jaishankar’s visit and handshake with Sharif

New Delhi: Foreign Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan is being discussed a lot. The Foreign Minister arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization organized between 15-16 October. Shortly after landing in Islamabad, the Foreign Minister attended the dinner hosted by Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. During this, the two leaders shook hands and had a brief conversation, which is being discussed a lot. It is being said in the Pakistani media that after a decade of silence, there has been a ’20-second’ meeting between India and Pakistan.

Foreign Minister Jaishankar has shared some pictures in a post made on social media site X after his address at the SCO summit. In one picture, he is seen shaking hands with the Pakistani PM. Pakistan’s newspaper The Express Tribune has titled its news published on the meeting of S Jaishankar and Shahbaz Sharif – After a decade of silence, Pakistan and India have had a brief meeting of 20 seconds at the SCO summit.

The newspaper wrote in reference to the handshakes of the two leaders before dinner, ‘The two leaders shook hands and greeted each other in a brief meeting that lasted less than 20 seconds. Relations between India and Pakistan have remained tense for nearly a decade. Jaishankar’s visit is the first visit of an Indian minister to Pakistan in nearly 10 years. Earlier in 2015, the then Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj attended a conference on Afghanistan in Islamabad, in which the then Foreign Secretary Jaishankar was with her.’

The Pakistani newspaper further wrote that in the same year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a sudden meeting with the then Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Despite all previous efforts to promote dialogue, the talks between the two countries have derailed. Before reaching Islamabad, Jaishankar had made it clear that his visit was only for the SCO summit and ruled out the possibility of any bilateral talks during this period. ‘Other leaders were welcomed by high officials and Jaishankar…’

Pakistan’s news network Geo TV has described Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan as a rare visit and wrote, ‘Jaishankar arrived at an airbase near Islamabad on Tuesday afternoon, where he was welcomed by a low-level delegation, while the rest of the leaders were welcomed by senior ministers. A few hours after his arrival, he was welcomed by PM Shahbaz Sharif, during which both the leaders shook hands. During this, both had serious expressions on their faces.’

The newspaper wrote that relations between the two countries have worsened especially since 2019 when India’s Narendra Modi government revoked Article 370 from Kashmir. In view of this, Pakistan suspended bilateral trade and also limited diplomatic relations with India.
Geo News quoted former ambassador Maleeha Lodhi on India’s participation in the summit, ‘I believe that the Indian Foreign Minister’s multilateral visit will not melt the ice between India and Pakistan. Our deadlock is very deep and such a meeting cannot improve the situation.’

‘The ice in India-Pakistan relations is melting…’
Another Pakistani newspaper, Pakistan Today, has described the handshake between Foreign Minister Jaishankar and Shahbaz Sharif as ‘ice melting’.
The newspaper wrote, ‘Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar held each other’s hands during a banquet organized for the leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which was a rare meeting between the leaders of the arch-rival neighboring countries. Jaishankar has made his first visit to the neighboring country after almost ten years.’

What did the leaders there say on Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan?
Pakistan People’s Party President Bilawal Bhutto has welcomed Foreign Minister Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan. The PPP is an ally in the Shahbaz Sharif government and Bilawal Bhutto’s father Asif Ali Zardari is the President of Pakistan. Bilawal Bhutto was the Foreign Minister in the previous government but this time he has not got any cabinet post.

Regarding the Foreign Minister’s visit to Pakistan, Bhutto said, ‘The SCO is moving forward successfully because it does not allow bilateral relations to dominate its agenda, which was one of the reasons for the failure of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation). We need to start a dialogue, but we have to find ways to resolve the issues of Kashmir and terrorism repeatedly raised by India. Both countries are also affected by climate change, there is a need to talk about this too.’

Last week, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s niece and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also publicly advocated ‘climate diplomacy’ between India and Pakistan. She said that both countries need to talk on this issue so that people affected by global warming and air pollution on both sides of the border can be helped.

Pakistan’s Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman, while talking to ‘The Hindu’, said that she has little hope of improvement in relations between the two countries from Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan. He said, ‘It seems that the Indian Foreign Minister is not interested in breaking the ice in the relations between the two countries.’