In a first since Operation Sindoor, India invites Pakistan to SCO meet in Delhi

India has invited Pakistan’s National Heritage and Culture Minister Aurangzeb Khan Khichi to a major SCO cultural meeting in New Delhi. The invitation matters because it is the first such invitation to a senior Pakistani minister since military hostilities followed Operation Sindoor in May 2025. It shows how multilateral diplomacy can continue despite frozen bilateral relations.

The event is the SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum. It is expected to take place in one of Delhi’s iconic monuments on November 20-21. The forum will focus on shared heritage, art, literature and traditions across Eurasian member states. Its stated goals include stronger people-to-people ties and cultural engagement.

India extended the invitation because it proposed hosting the forum and must invite representatives from every SCO member country. Pakistan is also scheduled to host the SCO leaders’ summit next year. The meeting could therefore provide a limited, formal setting for India and Pakistan to interact without reopening full bilateral talks.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, or SCO, is a multilateral grouping that brings Eurasian and Asian member states together. The article describes it as a platform where countries cooperate across a broad region. Its members include India, Pakistan, China, Russia, Iran and several Central Asian states. The organisation’s meetings cover issues that cross national borders.

India and Pakistan meet through the SCO because both belong to the organisation. The grouping requires member states to participate in common meetings and forums. India’s proposed Civilisational Dialogue Forum is one example. It is designed to promote people-to-people ties and cultural engagement, rather than resolve every bilateral dispute.

This arrangement allows formal contact even while India keeps direct ties with Pakistan frozen. Indian officials have recently raised connectivity, regional connectivity, transit and trade under the SCO framework. The article also notes that senior officials from both countries met during SCO events in Islamabad and elsewhere, showing the platform’s practical diplomatic value.

The article lists 10 SCO member states: Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Belarus and China. This makes the organisation a sizeable regional grouping spanning much of Eurasia and Asia. Its membership includes major powers as well as smaller Central Asian countries.

Russia and China are the most prominent larger powers named in the list. India and Iran are also significant members. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan represent Central Asia, while Pakistan and Belarus add further geographic reach. Together, these states form the membership invited to India’s civilisational dialogue.

The size and diversity of the SCO explain why India must engage with Pakistan through the organisation. India proposed the New Delhi forum, so it is obliged to invite representatives from all member countries. The same broad membership also gives the forum a wider purpose: encouraging cultural exchange, connectivity and discussion across the Eurasian region.

The invitation is significant because India and Pakistan experienced military hostilities after Operation Sindoor in May 2025, which followed the Pahalgam terror attack. Since then, India had not invited a senior Pakistani minister for this kind of engagement. The new invitation therefore marks a rare reopening of official contact under a multilateral framework.

The article identifies the previous comparable occasion as May 2023. Bilawal Bhutto, then Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, travelled to Goa for an SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting. That visit was the last time India hosted a senior minister from Pakistan before the invitation to Aurangzeb Khan Khichi.

The invitation does not mean bilateral relations have been restored. India has kept those ties frozen for a decade after the Pathankot and Uri attacks in 2016. Instead, the contact reflects India’s obligation as host of an SCO event. It creates a controlled diplomatic channel while keeping the broader bilateral relationship unchanged.

India’s bilateral relationship with Pakistan concerns direct dealings between the two countries. The SCO is different: it is a multilateral organisation with several members. India can therefore decline or limit bilateral engagement while still attending meetings and hosting events conducted under the SCO’s rules. The two channels serve different diplomatic purposes.

The practical mechanism is India’s obligation to invite all SCO members to the civilisational dialogue. Since Delhi proposed and will host the forum, it must include Pakistan alongside Russia, China, Iran and other members. Indian and Pakistani officials can meet in that formal setting without turning the event into a bilateral summit.

The article gives examples of this limited engagement. Alok Dimri visited Islamabad for an SCO national coordinators’ meeting, and S Jaishankar attended an SCO government meeting there in October 2024. These contacts continued under the SCO format, while India’s direct relationship with Pakistan remained frozen.

Participation could widen cultural contact among SCO societies. The forum’s stated goals are stronger people-to-people ties and cultural engagement across Eurasian member states. It will showcase shared heritage, art, literature and traditions. For India and Pakistan, this offers a structured way to interact around culture rather than immediately tackling their most difficult disputes.

The broader SCO platform also supports discussion of practical regional links. During a recent visit to Islamabad, India’s national coordinator, Alok Dimri, flagged connectivity, regional connectivity, transit and trade. These subjects involve movement and exchange across borders. Participation gives officials a place to raise them with Pakistan and other member states.

The article does not say that the dialogue will produce an agreement or reopen bilateral trade. Its immediate effect is more limited: maintaining official contact and encouraging discussion. Over time, cultural engagement and wider SCO conversations could support stronger regional connections, but the outcome will depend on future decisions by the participating countries.

Countries use multilateral organisations because shared problems often cross borders. A common platform lets governments discuss regional connectivity, transit, trade and cultural ties with several partners at once. It can preserve communication even when direct relations are strained. Cooperation does not require every dispute to be resolved beforehand.

The SCO demonstrates this mechanism. India and Pakistan are both members, so they attend the organisation’s meetings and forums. India can invite Pakistan to its civilisational dialogue because it is hosting an SCO event and must include all members. Officials can interact under agreed organisational arrangements rather than treating every meeting as a bilateral negotiation.

The article shows the practical result. India’s Alok Dimri led a delegation to an SCO meeting in Islamabad, while S Jaishankar attended an SCO meeting there in October 2024. These contacts continued despite frozen bilateral ties. Such organisations therefore provide limited, structured engagement and keep regional cooperation possible during political conflict.