India has invited Pakistan's Culture Minister Aurangzeb Khan Khichi to attend the Civilisational Dialogue Forum to be held later this month.
India invites Pakistan for SCO meeting.
Uncertainty remains over Pakistan's participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit to be held in India. Pakistan has stated that it will make a final decision about participating in the Forum for Civilizational Dialogue later this month after consulting with relevant institutions.
Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Sajjad Haider Khan confirmed in his weekly media briefing on Friday that Pakistan has received an invitation from India to attend the meeting, scheduled to be held in New Delhi on November 20-22. He said the country's leadership will make a final decision on participation after consultations with various institutions.
New Delhi's invitation to Islamabad
India has invited all SCO member countries, including Pakistan, to an event jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). This invitation to Islamabad is significant, as it is perhaps the first time since the military clash between the two countries in May last year that New Delhi has invited a senior Pakistani minister to an event in India.
Aurangzeb Khan Khichi's attendance
remains uncertain Pakistan's Minister of National Heritage and Culture, Aurangzeb Khan Khichi, is reported to have been invited to attend the meeting. India announced on October 28 that, in keeping with established practice, invitations had been sent to all SCO members. The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and security intergovernmental grouping comprising India, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and Belarus.
It should be noted that this invitation to Pakistan comes at a time when relations between the two countries are extremely tense. This tension has further escalated following the Pahalgam terrorist attack on April 22, 2025, in which 26 people were killed. In response, India launched " Operation Sindoor " on May 7, aimed at targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The military standoff between India and Pakistan lasted for four days and ended on May 10th after an agreement was reached between the military officials of both countries. India has consistently raised the issue of cross-border terrorism within the SCO. India believes that the group should work together against terrorism and its funding without any double standards.
