India, Pakistan And New Delhi SCO Meet After Op Sindoor: 10 Things To Know Amid Strained Ties

Last Updated:November 15, 2026, 6:10 PM IST

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit is the annual meeting of the Council of Heads of State — the highest decision-making body of the 10-member Eurasian bloc.

India continues to use SCO platforms to press for collective action against terrorism.

New Delhi is hosting the inaugural SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum from November 20 to 22, at the historic Purana Qila. While India last hosted the annual SCO Heads of State Summit virtually in 2023, this upcoming ministerial-level gathering is the major SCO event taking place in the Indian capital.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit is the annual meeting of the Council of Heads of State — the highest decision-making body of the 10-member Eurasian political, economic, and security bloc.

Recent diplomatic exchanges between India and Pakistan under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) highlight a strict separation between frozen bilateral relations and multilateral institutional commitments, say experts.

KEY THINGS TO KNOW

• Pakistan’s Climate Minister, Musadik Masood Malik, is scheduled to visit New Delhi from November 20 to 22, 2026.
• Malik’s trip marks the first visit by a Pakistani minister to India in over three years.
• The visit is for the first-ever SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum, an initiative proposed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 2025 Tianjin summit to foster heritage, culture, and people-to-people exchanges.
• India extended invitations to all 10 SCO member states—as well as dialogue partners and observers—following standard multilateral procedure rather than making a bilateral overture.
• Both New Delhi and Islamabad have emphasized that the engagement is strictly multilateral. India maintains that normal bilateral dialogue remains frozen until cross-border terrorism stops.
• Following the Bishkek Summit in late August 2026, Pakistan assumed the rotating presidency of the SCO for the 2026–27 term, which will culminate in the Heads of State Summit in August 2027.
• In late September 2026, Indian diplomat Alok Dimri (Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs) traveled to Islamabad for the SCO Council of National Coordinators meeting.
• Dimri’s September trip was the first official visit by an Indian delegation to Pakistan following Operation Sindoor in 2025.
• While India has boycotted South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summits hosted by Pakistan since 2016, analysts note that New Delhi actively participates in SCO events in Pakistan to protect its strategic interests in Eurasia and balance regional dynamics alongside China, Russia, and Iran.
• India continues to use SCO platforms to press for collective action against terrorism without double standards, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently urging member states to dismantle terror financing and safe havens during an SCO meeting attended by Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar.

WHAT TO EXPECT?

Indian officials, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at prior SCO gatherings, have consistently emphasized a collective approach to tackling cross-border terrorism.

Following military hostilities during Operation Sindoor in May 2025, direct bilateral engagement remains frozen. Both Indian officials and foreign policy observers stress that extending or accepting SCO invitations represents adherence to multilateral obligations rather than a resumption of bilateral talks.

Although India originally invited Culture Minister Aurangzeb Khan Khichi to align with the forum’s cultural focus, Islamabad chose Malik—a senior figure who previously managed petroleum and water resources.

Malik has strongly opposed India’s suspension of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) following the Pahalgam incident. Malik previously made headlines in June 2026 by warning against any efforts to restrict Indus water flows. Dispatching the climate minister enables Pakistan to frame transboundary water sharing as a core environmental concern on Indian soil.

The visit is confined to the multilateral SCO forum at Delhi’s Purana Qila—inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—and does not signal a thaw in bilateral negotiations.

With Pakistan holding the rotating SCO chairmanship and scheduled to host the Heads of State Summit in August 2027, participating in New Delhi ensures diplomatic reciprocity.

With agency inputs

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What is the primary purpose of the SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum in New Delhi?

The inaugural SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum is designed to foster heritage, culture, and people-to-people exchanges among member states.

Who is representing Pakistan at the New Delhi SCO Civilisational Dialogue?

Pakistan has nominated Climate Change Minister Musadik Masood Malik to lead its delegation for the New Delhi meeting.

Does Pakistan’s ministerial visit signal a thaw in India-Pakistan bilateral relations?

No, both nations emphasize that the engagement is strictly multilateral to fulfill SCO obligations, and normal bilateral talks remain frozen following Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam attack.

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Manjiri Joshi

At the news desk for 20 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing speci…Read More

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