Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Pakistan’s foreign minister, made history by becoming the first senior Pakistani leader to visit India in almost 12 years. He arrived in Goa to attend the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting organized by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Despite tensions between India and Pakistan due to several issues, including cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, Bhutto-Zardari’s visit reflects Pakistan’s strong commitment to the charter of the SCO.

The last time a senior Pakistani leader visited India was in 2011 when Pakistan’s former foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, visited India and held talks with her Indian counterpart at the time, SM Krishna. Since then, there have been no bilateral meetings between the two countries. However, Bhutto-Zardari’s visit has raised hopes for renewed peace talks and regional stability in South Asia.

During his two-day visit, Bhutto-Zardari held meetings with his counterparts from Russia and Uzbekistan and attended a dinner hosted for all the foreign ministers. However, there were no plans for a bilateral meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Bhutto-Zardari, as no such request was made by the Pakistani side.