Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is slated to visit India today (Thursday) for the foreign minister's meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at Goa, reports Mint.
The meeting is scheduled for 4 and 5 May and the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Russia, and China have confirmed their presence at the meeting.
The development assumes significance as the visit by Bilawal Butto will be the first such visit from Islamabad since 2011.
Hina Rabbani Khar, the then-foreign minister of Pakistan visited India that year.
The visit comes amid new lows in the bilateral relations between India and Pakistan, with both countries having minimum communication channels. The strain in the relations widened after the 2019 Pulwama attack and the subsequent operation by the Indian Air Force in Pakistan's Balakot.
Pakistan is also not happy with India's decision to abrogate Articles 370 and 35A from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and the bifurcation of the state into two union territories.
The visit is crucial for economically weak Pakistan, which is seeking the support of many countries to deal with domestic economic and political issues.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
