ISLAMABAD: In a significant milestone, India has invited Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Asif to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit that would be held in New Delhi the following month.

The Indian government issued a formal invitation on the matter to the Pakistani Foreign Office.

The SCO Foreign Ministers will convene in Goa in May, following the gathering of the defence ministers in April.

India, as president of the SCO, is poised to host a series of events, in which, member states including Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran and Central Asian States, will be taking active role and debating subjects of regional concerns, security, growth and friendship.

India had already invited the chief justice of Pakistan, Umar Ata Bandial, as well as the foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, to the conference of foreign ministers and the chief justices of the SCO. Bandial, however, opted out of the meeting, and Justice Muneeb Akhtar recently participated via video link. The decision about Bilawal's visit is still up in the air, and many believe that participation in the meeting via video link will facilitate that decision as well.

According to diplomatic sources, the Pakistani government has not yet decided whether to accept the invites extended by India. The sources added that the decision would be made at the proper time.

"In the upcoming days, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is also anticipated to receive an invitation from India to the SCO Summit. But, it is yet unknown whether Pakistan will attend those important meetings or not "an insider with knowledge of the matter stated.

The SCO Summit is a significant platform, and it would be difficult for Pakistan's Foreign Minister and Defense Minister to decline an invitation from India.

Both ministers are likely to accept the invites by participating in the meetings through video link and choosing not to go to India for the same.

India and Pakistan both agreed to refrain from undermining the SCO because of their bilateral disagreements before being admitted as full members.

India-Pakistan relations have been tensed since February 2021 after India's Balakot airstrike and Pakistan's aggressive response downing an Indian Air Force (IAF) jet and capturing Wing Commander Abhinandan, who was later released and handed over to India as what Pakistan termed it as a "goodwill gesture".

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