In a significant development, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), has announced that he will attend the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in India. This will be the first visit by a Pakistani leader to India in nine years, and has raised hopes of a thaw in the frosty relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. The move has also generated considerable interest among political observers, who are debating its implications and whether it could lead to a lasting peace in the region.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a briefing that the SCO foreign ministers meeting is scheduled from May 4 – 5.
Historical Background
The India-Pakistan relationship has been characterized by a complex mix of cooperation and conflict since the partition of India in 1947. Both countries have fought three major wars, in 1947-48, 1965, and 1971, and have been involved in numerous skirmishes and border clashes over the years. The roots of the conflict lie in the religious, linguistic, and cultural differences between the two countries, as well as territorial disputes over the region of Kashmir.
Bilawal’s visit to India is the first by any Pakistani leader after Nawaz Sharif in 2014. Since then, there has been a complete breakdown in dialogue between the two countries, with frequent ceasefire violations and terrorist attacks undermining any attempts at rapprochement. However, in recent months, there have been some signs of a thaw in the relationship, with both countries agreeing to a ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in February 2021.
Bilawal is the first foreign minister to visit India 12 years after former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar came to India. The high level visit could lead to a thaw in the bilateral relations.
The announcement of Bhutto’s visit comes months after his remarks over PM Modi. Responding to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s ‘Osama killed in Pakistan’ remark at the UN, Bilawal attacked PM Modi over the 2002 Gujarat riots.
“(I want to tell India) that Osama bin Laden is dead, but the butcher of Gujarat lives and he is the Prime Minister of India. He (PM Modi) was banned from entering this country until he became the prime minister. This is the prime minister of the RSS and the foreign minister of the RSS. What is the RSS? The RSS takes inspiration from Hitler’s SS,” Zardari said.
The BJP had termed Zardari’s personal comments against PM Narendra Modi as “highly shameful and derogatory” and staged nationwide protests to vent its spleen against the Pakistani minister.
Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov are also likely to participate in the meeting.
Implications of Bilawal Bhutto’s Visit
Bilawal Bhutto’s visit to India has been greeted with cautious optimism by many in the region, who see it as a possible opportunity to break the impasse in Indo-Pak relations. The fact that Bilawal Bhutto is the son of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007, adds a poignant dimension to the visit, and has generated considerable media interest in both countries.
However, there are also concerns that the visit could be a mere political gambit by the PPP, designed to bolster its own standing in Pakistan rather than to achieve any substantive breakthrough in the relationship with India. Some political analysts have suggested that the visit is aimed at enhancing Bilawal Bhutto’s image as a statesman and projecting him as a potential future leader of Pakistan. Others have pointed out that the PPP has little influence in Pakistan’s foreign policy, which is largely controlled by the powerful military establishment.
There are also questions about the timing of the visit, which comes at a time when the Taliban have seized power in neighboring Afghanistan, and there is a growing sense of insecurity in the region. Some have suggested that the visit could be an attempt by Pakistan to cozy up to India’s other regional rival, China, which is a member of the SCO along with India and Pakistan.
Possible Outcomes of the Visit
Despite the uncertainties and doubts, Bilawal Bhutto’s visit to India could have several positive outcomes if it is approached in the right spirit. First, it could help to restart the stalled dialogue between the two countries and pave the way for further confidence-building measures. Second, it could create a positive momentum in the relationship, which could spill over into other areas such as trade, culture, and people-to-people contacts.
India assumed the chairmanship role of the 20-year-oldtrans-regional international organisations in 2022. The last SCO meeting was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Its members include Russia, India, China, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became permanent members in 2017.Iran is the newest member, set to join SCO this month. The 2023 summit comes in the wake-up of Russia-Ukraine war and India’s G20 Presidency.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Coverpage’s editorial stance
