The invitation to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) conference in New Delhi in April has been conveyed by India to Pakistan’s National Security Advisor (NSA) and Defense Minister Khawaja Asif.

Khawaja Asif reportedly accepted the offer from the Indian government.

India will host a number of meetings as it presently holds the SCO presidency.

China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are all members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The SCO foreign ministers’ conference will be placed in May, and India has also conveyed invitations to that meeting to Pakistan’s foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Prior to that, India shared an invitation for the SCO conference of foreign ministers as well as the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Umar Ata Bandial. The SCO chief justices’ meeting, however, was missed by the chief justice; Justice Muneeb Akhtar, instead, recently participated by video link.

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The presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan established the SCO at a summit in Shanghai in 2001.

It has grown to become one of the largest trans-regional international organizations. In 2017, the Beijing-based SCO welcomed India and Pakistan as permanent members.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization currently consists of China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

(With input from PTI)