Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was welcomed by his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar as he arrived at the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Goa on Friday. The meeting of the SCO CFM was scheduled to begin in the morning and by noon, the "decision document" will be signed, which will be followed by a working lunch.

Foreign Minsiter Bilawal, who is leading the country's delegation, had arrived in Goa on Thursday to attend the two-day meeting of the SCO CFM. Meanwhile, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zehra Baloch said India has given Pakistan no reason to complain regarding Bilawal’s visit to attend SCO moot in Goa. “They haven’t given us a chance to complain. All is well so far,” she told journalists.

When asked if Bilawal's handshake with his Indian counterpart Jaishankar was reflective of past bitterness, Mumtaz Baloch said: “You are giving it a lot of importance. It was a routine formality.” Mumtaz Baloch said that it is premature to say that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in India in July. Speaking to the media after landing in Goa, Bilawal said: "I am happy that I have reached here in Goa to attend the SCO meeting. I hope that the SCO CFM will be a success."

It may be mentioned here that on the occasion of the dinner hosted by the Indian minister for external affairs in honour of the Council of Foreign Ministers, the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India shook hands. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was the last to arrive at the dinner on Thursday night. When Bilawal Bhutto arrived, Jaishankar stood up from his seat and shook hands with him.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP