Islamabad announced on Saturday that a government minister will travel to India next week for a regional conference. The visit is the first time a Pakistani federal minister will cross the border since the two nuclear-armed neighbours fought a four-day conflict last year.
Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik will represent Pakistan at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Civilizational Dialogue. The event takes place in New Delhi from November 20 to 22, according to an official statement from the Pakistani foreign ministry.
The trip follows a May 2023 visit by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who attended an SCO meeting in Goa. Relations between India and Pakistan have long been defined by deep distrust, with multiple wars fought since independence in 1947.
The dispute centres on the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir, claimed by both nations in full. Violence escalated sharply in May 2025 when armed gunmen killed over two dozen tourists, mostly Hindus, in Kashmir.
New Delhi accused Islamabad of supporting the assault. Pakistan has denied any involvement in the attack.
The killings triggered a series of diplomatic measures that quickly escalated. The two militaries engaged in intense exchanges of missile, drone and artillery fire, resulting in more than 70 deaths.
Despite the history of hostility, the foreign ministry in Islamabad emphasised a willingness to engage through multilateral platforms and stated its ongoing commitment to regional cooperation.
The Government of Pakistan remains committed to promoting dialogue among civilizations and fostering people-to-people contacts within the SCO framework in a spirit of mutual respect, the foreign ministry said.
