Islamabad/New Delhi, Oct 15 (UNI) Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday to attend the 23rd summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that begins in the evening.

This is the first time in a decade that an Indian external affairs minister has arrived in Pakistan since the previous visit by the late Sushma Swaraj.

Jaishankar was received at the Nur Khan airbase by Foreign Office Director General (South Asia & SAARC) Ilyas Mehmood Nizami.

In a post on X, the EAM said: "Landed in Islamabad to take part in SCO Council of Heads of Government Meeting."

State-run PTV showed images of Jaishankar being greeted by Pakistani officials on the runway after his plane touched down near the capital Islamabad just before 3:30pm.

The SCO comprises China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus — with 16 more countries affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners”.

Pakistan became a full member of the SCO at its 2017 summit in Kazakhstan, which was attended by ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, who recently also expressed the hope for reviving ties with India.

In his capacity as the current Chair of the Council of the Heads of Government (CHG), Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will preside over the summit.

UNI RN