S. Jaishankar, India’s External Affairs Minister, has arrived in Pakistan to attend the 23rd meeting of the Council of the Heads of Government (CHG) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states ¹. This two-day meeting will focus on strengthening cooperation in economy, trade, environment, and socio-cultural linkages among member states ¹.

Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had initially planned to protest during the summit, demanding permission to meet their jailed leader, Imran Khan ¹. However, after successful negotiations with the government, which assured that a medical team would be allowed to meet Khan, the party called off the protest ¹.

The SCO summit is being held under tight security, with around 10,000 police personnel deployed, along with paramilitary rangers and regular army troops ¹. The government has also announced a three-day official leave in the capital and neighboring Rawalpindi to minimize disruptions during the conference ¹.

Key Attendees:

• Chinese Premier Li Qiang
• Belarus Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko
• Kazakhstan Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov
• Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin
• Tajik Prime Minister Kohir Rasulzoda
• Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov
• Kyrgyzstan’s Chairman of Ministers Cabinet Zhaparov Akylbek
• Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref
• Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar ¹

This summit marks Pakistan’s assumption of the rotating chair of the SCO CHG for 2023-24 ¹.