Following a diplomatic thaw between Pakistan and India at the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government summit in Islamabad, Washington emphasized that the future of bilateral dialogue lies in the hands of both nations.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller affirmed the United States’ valued relationships with both Pakistan and India, acknowledging the positive developments at the high-profile summit.
Miller commented on the meeting between India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Pakistani leaders, stressing that any further dialogue will depend on decisions made by the two countries regarding their bilateral relations.
The SCO summit, which welcomed top leaders of member states, marked a rare moment of eased tensions between the two traditionally adversarial neighbors. Dr. Jaishankar, the first Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan in nearly a decade, termed the event “productive” and praised Pakistan’s hospitality.
While relations between Pakistan and India have experienced moments of thaw, they remain largely strained since Islamabad downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi in 2019, following the revocation of Article 370, which removed the special status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Pakistan continues to link the normalization of relations to the restoration of IIOJK’s special status. Despite tensions, both countries agreed to renew the 2003 ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control (LoC) in February 2021.
