Was India-Pakistan cricket relations discussed during Jaishankar’s visit? What did the Foreign Ministry say

The Ministry of External Affairs clarified that there was no discussion on India-Pakistan cricket relations during the two-day visit of External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar to Islamabad for the SCO summit on October 15 and 16. During the weekly press briefing in the national capital, Randhir Jaiswal said a question was raised about whether the resumption of India-Pakistan cricket ties was among the topics discussed during Jaishankar’s visit to the neighboring country, which In response, Jaiswal said that nothing like this happened.

India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral cricket match since 2012. The two rival teams have met only in ICC tournaments like the World Cup, Asia Cup and Champions Trophy. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday concluded the productive Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit hosted by Pakistan. He thanked Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, his counterpart Ishaq Dar and the Pakistani government for the hospitality and courtesy.

Jaishankar exchanged greetings with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the second day of the SCO summit. The brief exchange took place at the SCO summit venue. Jaishankar and Sharif warmly shook hands with PM Sharif and his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar and held very brief talks. It is important to mention that Jaishankar’s visit to Islamabad is a moment of utmost importance in relations between India and Pakistan, which remain tense over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. This was the first visit by an Indian foreign minister in nine years since Sushma Swaraj visited Islamabad in 2015.