Prime Minister Imran Khan appealed for dialogue after India ruled out a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. Amrita Dhillon, a founding editor of The Kootneeti, has singled out the only SCO member which can help solve the Indo-Pak conflict.
While India and Pakistan agree it is important to maintain peace in the region, tensions continue to simmer over the February Kashmir clash.
Although the Imran Khan government officially allowed Indian Prime Minister Modi's special aircraft to use Pakistani air space, Modi decided not to fly over Pakistan on his way to the Kyrgyzstan capital of Bishkek where he was to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.
Earlier, the two countries signalled their willingness to lift air space restrictions imposed in the aftermath of the Indian Air Force's Balakot airstrike on 26 February which was launched in response to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM or “Army of Muhammad”) terrorist group's attack in Pulwama.
Additionally, India ruled out a meeting between Modi and Khan at the SCO. For its part, China is urging the Modi government to start negotiations with the Pakistani leadership. The Chinese daily Global Times insisted that India's cooperation with Islamabad is “indispensable to fight against terrorism if New Delhi wants to promote a global convention”.
According to Amrita Dhillon, the…
