Imran Khan’s party calls off protest in Pakistan ahead of SCO summit

External affairs minister S Jaishankar is scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on Tuesday, October 15, to attend a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), in the first high-level visit from India in years amid continuing strain in relations between the two neighbours.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi. (ANI file)

Pakistan’s main opposition party Pakistan Tehreeki-Insaf called off its protest on Tuesday as the 23rd meeting of the Council of the Heads of Government (CHG) of the SCO begins in Islamabad under tight security. The two-day meeting will discuss ongoing cooperation in fields of economy, trade, environment and socio-cultural linkages and review the performance of the SCO.

Pakistan assumed the rotating chair of the SCO CHG, the second highest forum within the SCO, for 2023-24 at the previous meeting, held in Bishkek in October 2023.