India invites Pakistan minister to SCO Civilisation Forum in Delhi, first since Op Sindoor
Pakistan's Heritage and Culture Minister Aurangzeb Khan Khichi has reportedly been invited to the November 20–22 forum, amid strained India-Pakistan relations
India has reportedly invited Pakistan's Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Aurangzeb Khan Khichi, to the first Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Civilisational Dialogue Forum, slated to be held in New Delhi from November 20 to 22.
The development was reported by multiple media outlets, including India Today and Hindustan Times, quoting diplomatic sources. The development comes at a time when bilateral ties between the two neighbours remain strained after Operation Sindoor in May 2025.
Bilawal attended SCO meet last
All 10 SCO member states have been invited. Khichi, if he attends the programme, would be the first senior Pakistani minister to visit India since Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Goa in May 2023.
Also Read: SCO may be a pro-China club but India still needs to be there
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced the forum at the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on October 20. He invited every member country to the inaugural event, aimed at strengthening cultural ties and helping members know one another better.
“At the end of this year, India will host the first SCO Civilisation Dialogue Forum. We invite all SCO countries to participate in it,” Singh said as quoted by ANI.
Strained India-Pakistan ties
The invitation comes at a time when tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad persist after the military operation launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar was at the Dushanbe meeting when Singh made the announcement.
Also Read: Why upcoming SCO and BRICS summits are thorny for India
Singh also called for a collective response to terrorism. Countries, he said, should not adopt different standards when dealing with those accused of backing militant groups.
“There should be no double standards in dealing with terrorism, and no place for those who finance, support or provide safe havens to terrorists. The entire ecosystem of terrorism must be firmly and collectively dismantled,” he said.
Rajnath recalls SCO's regional cooperation agenda
In a separate address, Singh referred to India's ties with Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries. He also recalled the discussions at the Bishkek SCO summit, where leaders went through the organisation's 25-year history and weighed its future course.
Also Read: PM Modi at SCO Summit: Countries backing terrorism must get ‘firm message’
Pakistan holds the rotating chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State for 2026-27. It took the post from Kyrgyzstan on September 1, after the Bishkek summit.
The SCO’s 10 members are Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India’s full membership dates to 2017. Observer status belongs to Afghanistan and Mongolia, and 15 other countries are dialogue partners.