No Modi-Imran bilateral at SCO, PM set to meet Xi again

Relations between India and Pakistan soured after a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed that killed 40 Indian troopers on February 14.

The external affairs ministry on Thursday said no bilateral meeting was planned between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan on the sidelines of the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

The two PMs will attend the summit on June 13-14 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital.

The ministry’s spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told reporters that no bilateral meeting was planned between the Indian and Pakistani PMs to the best of his knowledge.

Ties between India and Pakistan nosedived following the Indian Air Force’s strikes in Pakistan’s Balakot.

The strike on the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror base was India’s response to the February 14 Pulwama suicide bomber attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) men were killed.

Pakistan Air Force fighters made a failed attempt to bomb Indian military installations on February 27, leading to an aerial engagement along the Line of Control during which an Indian combat jet was shot down and its pilot captured and briefly detained by Pakistan.

WATCH | ‘No meet planned between PM Modi, Imran Khan’: Govt ahead of SCO summit

Pakistan’s foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood on Wednesday offered Eid prayers at the Jama Masjid, triggering speculation about the purpose of his visit as it came days ahead of the SCO summit. The ministry said he was on a private visit and no official meeting was sought or arranged. Mahmood, who was Pakistan’s high commissioner to India till mid-April, will return to Islamabad on Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO meet in Bishkek, India’s envoy to China Vikram Misri said on Thursday. The two leaders are likely to take stock of the bilateral ties and discuss regional and international issues.