Mani Shankar Aiyar questions Jaishankar's visit to Pakistan, says he created 'false hope'

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Friday questioned External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's recent visit to Pakistan and accusing him of creating 'false hopes' on normalisation of India-Pakistan relations.

While speaking to IANS, Aiyar asked why the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar did not specify earlier on the nature of his visit to Islamabad.

"Why did Jaishankar tell Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar that the discussion on India-Pakistan relations could take place later? Such statements only create unnecessary expectations and give rise to uncertainty," he said.

Jaishankar visited Pakistan on October 15, 2024, to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, marking the first visit by an Indian minister to Pakistan in nearly a decade.

During his two-day visit, Jaishankar held informal talks with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his counterpart Ishaq Dar, though no formal bilateral discussions took place.

The decision to send Jaishankar to Pakistan was widely seen as a move to reaffirm India’s commitment to the SCO.

In a public address, Jaishankar had emphasised that while India desires good relations with its neighbours, "that cannot happen while overlooking cross-border terrorism." He also made it clear that his visit was not intended to discuss bilateral relations with Pakistan but to engage in multilateral discussions at the SCO summit.

"I am here only to be a good member of the SCO," Jaishankar had stated.

Relations between the two countries have been frozen since the failed attempt to restart the dialogue process in 2015. The situation worsened after Pakistan recalled its high commissioner in August 2019 following India's decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir's special status.