India to invite Pakistan's premier to regional summit

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) - India said Thursday that Pakistan’s prime minister will be invited to the annual meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar told reporters: “All eight members of SCO as well as four observer states and other international dialogue partners will be invited to attend the meeting.”

India is set to host the meeting of the council of heads of government of the SCO for the first time this year.

China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan are the member states of the SCO.

The decision to accept the invitation will be on Pakistan’s Premier Imran Khan, said Kumar.

Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors mounted last year in February, after a suicide bombing on an army convoy killed over 40 Indian troops, the deadliest single assault on its forces in three decades in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian-administered section of the disputed region.

Tensions escalated further when India scrapped special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019.