NEW DELHI: Barely 18 months after the Operation Sindoor conflict, India has sent Pakistan an invitation to Delhi. The occasion is the first Civilisational Dialogue Forum of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), to be held from November 20 to 22. Officials said on Tuesday that all ten SCO members have been invited, not just Islamabad.
Government sources were quick to say this shouldn’t be read as a thaw in relations. The forum is a group effort, they explained, and has nothing to do with India’s bilateral ties with Pakistan. It should be seen in the bigger picture.
Among those invited is Pakistan’s national heritage and culture minister, Aurangzeb Khan Khichi, Hindustan Times has learnt. Whether he actually shows up is another matter. Pakistan last took part in an SCO foreign ministers’ meeting in India back in May 2023, in Goa.
The idea for the forum came from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who proposed it at the SCO leaders’ summit in Tianjin last year. The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of External Affairs are organising it together. The goal is simple: get member countries talking about their shared history and culture.
A heavy backdrop
The invitation comes against a tense backdrop. Operation Sindoor began in the early hours of May 7, after the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. Over the next few days, Indian forces hit nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, killing at least 100 terrorists. The Indian Air Force also struck 13 Pakistani airbases and military sites. The fighting ended with a ceasefire on the evening of May 10, just four days after it began.
No softening on terror
If anyone expects India to go easy on terrorism because of the invitation, recent events suggest otherwise. On October 20, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke at the 25th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ishaq Dar was sitting right there.
Singh urged member countries to act together against terrorism. There can be no excuse for it, he said, and no double standards in dealing with it. The message was aimed squarely at Pakistan, even if he didn’t say so in as many words.
Meeting on common ground
This wouldn’t be the first time the two countries have shared a room despite strained ties. In October 2024, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar travelled to Pakistan for the SCO heads of government meeting. He was the first Indian foreign minister to visit the country in nine years.
For India, the SCO is a platform where it can show up as a responsible host while keeping its disputes with Pakistan separate. A cultural forum is a softer, safer setting for that than a security meeting.
Still, the message from New Delhi is two-sided. India is willing to talk culture and cooperation in a multilateral setting, but it isn’t budging on terrorism. Whether Pakistan accepts the invitation, and who it sends, will be known only closer to November.
