FM Qureshi unlikely to meet Indian counterpart at SCO event

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is unlikely to meet Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Orga­ni­sation’s (SCO) ministerial meeting later this month.

Foreign Office Spokesperson confirmed on Thursday that the two foreign ministers would be present in the meeting and in all likelihood would interact amongst themselves and with other leaders but no formal meeting is, however, envisaged.

The SCO ministerial mee­ting is being held in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) on May 21-22, and comes days before the announcement of results of elections in India.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi would be representing Pakistan at the meeting, whereas External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj would be leading the Indian delegation.

Interestingly, the foreign ministers of the two nuclear-armed neghbours have not met for over three years now, however, Pakistan's Foreign Secretary met Indian High Commissioner multiple times in the said period.

Foreign Secretary Sohail Mehmood and Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria also met on Wednesday, however, the Foreign Office spokesman apparently played down the interaction saying, such meetings occur regularly to discuss various evolving issues.

To a query about India’s massive defence spending that was around $66.5 billion last year, the spokesman said India was trying to push the region into an arms race.

Dr Faisal elaborated that an inc­rease in the defence budget is not the sole determinant of a nation’s strength.

'You have seen the results of the misadventure by India on 27th February 2019 and the befitting reply given by our military forces,' he emphasized.