Pakistan invites Indian PM Narendra Modi for SCO Summit in Islamabad after eight years

Pakistan has sent a formal invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the meeting of heads of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) governments scheduled in the middle of October in Islamabad, official sources confirmed on August 25, Report informs referring to The Express Tribune.

They said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif invited Modi and other SCO leaders for the gathering of regional leaders on October 15 and 16 in Islamabad.

This is the first time Pakistan invited the Indian leader in 8 years.

The last time Modi was invited to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit was in 2016. The summit never took place after India boycotted it and since then the regional organisation has been all but dysfunctional.

But skipping the SCO meeting in Islamabad will not be easy for Modi given the presence of other powerful countries.

If not in person, Modi may join virtually.

Diplomatic sources are sceptical that Modi would travel to Islamabad given the current state of the relationship between the two neighbours.