Govt approves army deployment during SCO Summit

ISLAMABAD: The federal government notified the deployment of the Pakistan Army to ensure security during the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

According to the notification, the government authorised the deployment under Article 245 of the constitution.

The SCO Summit is scheduled to take place on October 15 and 16 in Islamabad and the army personnel will remain deployed till October 17.

Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will visit Pakistan later this month to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Heads of Government summit, according to Indian media reports.

“EAM Jaishankar will lead a delegation to Pakistan for the SCO summit which will be held in Islamabad on 15th and 16th October,” confirmed MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a press briefing on Friday.

Jaishankar would be the first Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan in almost 9 years. The last time an Indian External Affairs Minister visited Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj in December 2015.

Earlier, Pakistan had officially extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the SCO summit in Islamabad this October, according to a statement from the foreign office spokesperson.