Why did Shahbaz Sharif invite PM Modi to visit Pakistan?

For the first time in eight years, Pakistan has officially invited an Indian leader to visit Pakistan. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has invited PM Narendra Modi to Pakistan. Shahbaz Sharif has urged PM Modi to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the month of October.

According to Pakistan’s newspaper ‘The Express Tribune’, on Sunday official sources informed that Prime Minister Modi has been invited to visit Pakistan.

According to sources, PM Shahbaz Sharif has invited PM Modi as well as the heads of states of member countries to attend the SCO meeting to be held in Islamabad on October 15-16.

The last time Pakistan invited PM Modi to the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Organisation) meeting was 8 years ago in 2016. However, India boycotted the SAARC meeting, after which its meeting was not held and this regional organization has also remained almost inactive.

Given the tension between India and Pakistan, it is believed that PM Modi will not go to Pakistan for the SCO meeting, however, reports say that India can send its representative to the meeting as has been happening before.

PM Modi has been regularly participating in the SCO meetings but before Pakistan, he could not attend the SCO meeting held in Kazakhstan. During the meeting held in July, Parliament session was going on in India, due to which PM Modi could not attend the meeting.

Bilawal Bhutto attended the SCO meeting held in India

Pakistan’s then Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto had participated in the SCO meeting held in India in May last year. The SCO Heads of State meeting was held in Delhi for which Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif was invited. But before Pakistan could decide whether to attend the meeting or not, India had announced to hold this meeting virtually.

The SCO is a political, economic and security alliance of Eurasian countries founded in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Since then, it has expanded to include India, Pakistan and Iran as full members, while Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia have joined as observer countries.