<p>Pakistan's foreign minister arrived in India Thursday to take part in an international conference, the first official visit by a senior Pakistani official to the country's eastern neighbour since 2016.</p>.<p>The South Asian neighbours have fought three full-fledged wars since they were created at the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, and relations between the nuclear-armed countries have remained tense in recent years, mainly over the disputed territory of Kashmir.</p>.<p>Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is in the Indian coastal resort state of Goa for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting of foreign ministers, along with counterparts from China and Russia.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/pakistan-government-pti-agree-to-hold-same-day-election-across-country-date-yet-to-be-decided-1215196.html" target="_blank">Pakistan government, PTI agree to hold same-day election across country; date yet to be decided</a></strong></p>.<p>"I am very happy that today I have arrived here leading the delegation of Pakistan," he told reporters.</p>.<p>Bhutto gave no indication whether he would hold one-on-one talks with his opposite number in India, but said he hoped the SCO meeting would be "very successful".</p>.<p>Pakistan suspended trade and diplomatic ties with India in 2019, when New Delhi imposed direct rule on the part of Muslim-majority Kashmir it controls and enforced a heavy security lockdown.</p>.<p>Both countries withdrew their top diplomats and several consular staff were expelled or withdrawn in tit-for-tat measures.</p>.<p>That development came after a military standoff earlier in the year -- also centred over Kashmir -- that saw both countries launch air strikes and an Indian fighter jet shot down.</p>.<p>The most recent visit to India by a high-ranking Pakistan diplomat was in 2016, when Sartaj Aziz -- then the senior foreign affairs adviser to the prime minister -- travelled there.</p>.<p>India currently holds the rotating presidency of the SCO, a forum established in 2001 that also includes several Central Asian states, rivalling Western institutions.</p>.<p>S Jaishankar, India's foreign minister, met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov ahead of Friday's meeting to discuss ties and "current global and regional agenda topics", a statement from Moscow said.</p>.<p>India's security ties with Russia have put it in an awkward diplomatic position following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/pakistan-inflation-hits-record-high-3642-1215063.html" target="_blank">Pakistan inflation hits record-high 36.42%</a></strong></p>.<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has walked a tightrope between India's increased security cooperation with Western countries and its reliance on Russia for defence and oil imports.</p>.<p>Jaishankar also sat down with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Thursday, a week after the defence ministers of both nations met in New Delhi to discuss military deployments on their disputed Himalayan frontier.</p>.<p>"Focus remains on resolving outstanding issues and ensuring peace and tranquillity in the border areas," Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting.</p>
<p>Pakistan's foreign minister arrived in India Thursday to take part in an international conference, the first official visit by a senior Pakistani official to the country's eastern neighbour since 2016.</p>.<p>The South Asian neighbours have fought three full-fledged wars since they were created at the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, and relations between the nuclear-armed countries have remained tense in recent years, mainly over the disputed territory of Kashmir.</p>.<p>Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is in the Indian coastal resort state of Goa for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting of foreign ministers, along with counterparts from China and Russia.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/pakistan-government-pti-agree-to-hold-same-day-election-across-country-date-yet-to-be-decided-1215196.html" target="_blank">Pakistan government, PTI agree to hold same-day election across country; date yet to be decided</a></strong></p>.<p>"I am very happy that today I have arrived here leading the delegation of Pakistan," he told reporters.</p>.<p>Bhutto gave no indication whether he would hold one-on-one talks with his opposite number in India, but said he hoped the SCO meeting would be "very successful".</p>.<p>Pakistan suspended trade and diplomatic ties with India in 2019, when New Delhi imposed direct rule on the part of Muslim-majority Kashmir it controls and enforced a heavy security lockdown.</p>.<p>Both countries withdrew their top diplomats and several consular staff were expelled or withdrawn in tit-for-tat measures.</p>.<p>That development came after a military standoff earlier in the year -- also centred over Kashmir -- that saw both countries launch air strikes and an Indian fighter jet shot down.</p>.<p>The most recent visit to India by a high-ranking Pakistan diplomat was in 2016, when Sartaj Aziz -- then the senior foreign affairs adviser to the prime minister -- travelled there.</p>.<p>India currently holds the rotating presidency of the SCO, a forum established in 2001 that also includes several Central Asian states, rivalling Western institutions.</p>.<p>S Jaishankar, India's foreign minister, met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov ahead of Friday's meeting to discuss ties and "current global and regional agenda topics", a statement from Moscow said.</p>.<p>India's security ties with Russia have put it in an awkward diplomatic position following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/pakistan-inflation-hits-record-high-3642-1215063.html" target="_blank">Pakistan inflation hits record-high 36.42%</a></strong></p>.<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has walked a tightrope between India's increased security cooperation with Western countries and its reliance on Russia for defence and oil imports.</p>.<p>Jaishankar also sat down with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Thursday, a week after the defence ministers of both nations met in New Delhi to discuss military deployments on their disputed Himalayan frontier.</p>.<p>"Focus remains on resolving outstanding issues and ensuring peace and tranquillity in the border areas," Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting.</p>