EAM Jaishankar unlikely to meet Pakistan FM Bilawal Bhutto at SCO Summit: Report

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar is unlikely to have a one-on-one meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari during the SCO Summit to be held next month, NDTV reported on Wednesday.

Bhutto would participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in India next month, the first after taking over as Pakistan's Foreign Minister. He will be leading the Pakistan delegation to the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) being held on May 4-5, 2023 in Goa.

India and Pakistan's bilateral relation has plummeted to an all-time low, with New Delhi sticking to the stand that Islamabad has to act on terror outfits operating out of its soil to have any further bilateral dialogue.

Just days ago, Jaishankar said it was very difficult for India to engage with a neighbour "who practices cross-border terrorism against us". "We've always said that they have to deliver on the commitment not to encourage, sponsor, and carry out cross-border terrorism. We continue to hope that one day we would reach that stage," he said.