After generating days of excitement in the media, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit finally concluded with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar making a quick visit to Islamabad. For all the speculation about India and Pakistan, in the end, what the 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of the SCO will likely be remembered for is perhaps Jaishankar's sunglasses. In this age of intense social media scrutiny, a small clip, now viral, of Jaishankar sporting his sunglasses in style became symbolic of India's confidence in dealing with Pakistan. Hilarious though this might seem, all that is left of Pakistan in Indian foreign policy imagination today is decoding our diplomats' style and body language.
But, of course, in sending Jaishankar to Islamabad for the SCO summit, New Delhi was also sending out a message about keeping its engagement with its SCO partners intact. Last year, when Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited Goa to participate in the SCO meeting, he became the first Pakistani foreign minister to visit India since 2011. And now, Jaishankar was the first Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan in around a decade. These visits though were largely inconsequential in the wider scheme of bilateral ties between the two neighbours.
Terrorism Continues To Upset Things
Established in 2001 and including Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Iran, the SCO is a Eurasian grouping that started out as a platform to deal with regional security challenges like extremism and terrorism. It later expanded to facilitating trade and investment and strengthening economic ties.
Since its inception, the SCO has prioritised the fight against terrorism, separatism, and extremism, as stated in Article 1 of its charter. India has focused on eliminating terrorism and terrorist groups along its northwest border while also promoting connectivity and socio-economic development across Eurasia. However, despite the SCO's goals, some member states have leveraged terrorism as an instrument of foreign policy, exacerbating tensions in Eurasia and against India.
Shifting geopolitical interests among the member countries have hindered the SCO's effectiveness in tackling state-sponsored terrorism. New Delhi has consistently advocated for greater cooperation on counterterrorism and has raised concerns about state-sponsored terrorism, particularly regarding Pakistan-based groups. But this has seen limited success. Furthermore, the differing views on achieving a peaceful, prosperous, and stable Afghanistan underscore the challenges faced by this Eurasian organisation, as member states often prioritise their own interests over a collective vision for peace in the region.
The 'Three Evils'
At the meeting in Islamabad, Jaishankar reminded the SCO about its original mandate and the need to adhere to the fundamentals. "It is axiomatic that development and growth require peace and stability. And as the Charter spelt out, this means being firm and uncompromising in countering the 'three evils'. If activities across borders are characterised by terrorism, extremism and separatism, they are hardly likely to encourage trade, energy flows, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges in parallel," Jaishankar underlined for the gathering.
If Pakistan was the target above, China was also not spared when he stated, "...Cooperation must be based on mutual respect and sovereign equality, recognise territorial integrity and sovereignty and be built on genuine partnerships, not unilateral agendas. SCO cannot progress if we cherry-pick global practices, especially of trade and transit." In line with its stated policy, India refused to endorse China's "One Belt One Road" initiative, thereby standing out in the SCO, where other members reaffirmed their support for China's connectivity initiative.
SCO Meet Was About Central Asia, Not Pakistan
Challenges from Pakistan and China notwithstanding, Central Asia remains an important foreign policy priority for India. Jaishankar's visit to Islamabad was a testament to that. Since becoming a full member in 2017, India has prioritised combating terrorism, and it continues to advocate for stronger counterterrorism measures and greater cooperation among member states to address this pressing issue. India's approach also focuses on connectivity and socio-economic development across Eurasia, aligning with its broader foreign policy objectives. Initiatives like the International North-South Transport Corridor and the Chabahar Port project demonstrate New Delhi's commitment to enhancing trade and connectivity within the region.
But the relationship with Pakistan is unlikely to change any time soon. It was only months back that Jaishankar had declared that the "era of uninterrupted dialogue" with Pakistan was over. "Actions have consequences, and as far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, Article 370 is done [away with]. The issue now is what kind of relationship we can contemplate with Pakistan. We are not passive; whether events take a positive or negative direction, we will react," he had suggested. For the Modi government, there is neither any incentive nor any interlocutor on the other side to merit a change in its approach. By visiting Islamabad, Jaishankar was signalling to the SCO members that New Delhi remains committed to the regional grouping despite the challenges it faces within. Pakistan was merely a sideshow.
(Harsh V. Pant is Vice President – Studies and Foreign Policy, at Observer Research Foundation, and Professor of International Relations at King's College London.)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author