Jaishankar, Bilawal hold casual conversations on sidelines of SCO meet

Islamabad: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar held casual conversations on two occasions in the last two days, but there was no indication of any thaw in the frosty relations between the two countries, diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.

The conversations took place on the sidelines of a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Islamabad.

Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar described Jaishankar's visit to Islamabad as an "ice breaker".

A brief pull-aside took place between Jaishankar and Dar at a dinner reception hosted by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at his residence for the SCO delegates last evening, the sources said.

It was joined by Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and the brief exchanges figured improving cricketing ties, they said.  Naqvi is also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

On Wednesday, Jaishankar and Dar sat next to each other at the official lunch following the SCO conclave and were seen engaged in a conversation that appeared to be positive signalling, the sources said, declining to elaborate further.

A source said arrangements were made for the two foreign ministers to sit together. It was not known what transpired in the conversation.

However, there was no formal bilateral meeting between the two sides.

"Neither us nor them requested for a bilateral meeting... but I believe his (Jaishankar's) arrival here is an ice breaker," Tarar was quoted as saying by the media.

There was an overall positivity around Jaishankar's visit here, said a senior Pakistani official on condition of anonymity.

The external affairs minister and Sharif warmly shook hands, exchanged pleasantries and briefly interacted at the dinner reception last night. Sharif welcomed Jaishankar at the venue of the SCO summit this morning as well with a handshake.

Before departing from Islamabad, Jaishankar thanked PM Sharif and Foreign Minister Dar in a post on 'X' for the hospitality and courtesies and described the SCO conclave as "productive".

"Departing from Islamabad. Thank PM @CMShehbaz, DPM & FM @MIshaqDar50 and the Government of Pakistan for the hospitality and courtesies," Jaishankar said.

Two officials also referred to the external affairs minister's post on 'X' to say that his visit went off well and that it created a "refreshing" environment.   Jaishankar arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday to attend the SCO meeting.

It is the first time in nearly nine years that India's foreign minister travelled to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours remained tense over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

The last Indian Foreign Minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj. She had travelled to Islamabad to attend the 'Heart of Asia' conference on Afghanistan held on December 8-9, 2015.