India Extends SCO Invite to Pakistan Amidst Lingering Post-Sindoor Tensions
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In a surprising diplomatic overture, India has invited Pakistan to its inaugural SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum, set to unfold in New Delhi from November 20 to 22, 2026. This invitation comes at a time of deeply strained India-Pakistan relations, following the major military conflict in May 2025, code-named Operation Sindoor, and marks a rare potential high-level engagement between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Pakistan's Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Aurangzeb Khan Khichi, has been extended the invitation, though Islamabad's participation remains unconfirmed. The move is particularly significant given the backdrop of the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025, which triggered Operation Sindoor—India's extensive counter-terror strikes in Pakistan, and subsequent reciprocal military actions. Since then, India has maintained a firm stance, even suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and downgrading diplomatic presence, asserting that 'talks and terror cannot coexist'. Despite the bilateral freeze, both countries have continued to engage within the broader Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) framework, with Pakistan currently holding the rotating chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State for 2026-27. While the SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum, proposed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aims to foster cultural ties and mutual understanding among member nations, India's Ministry of External Affairs has explicitly stated this invitation does not signal a shift in its overall Pakistan policy. The world will be closely watching for Pakistan's decision on attending the Delhi forum, which could potentially pave the way for a cautious easing of tensions or remain a mere symbolic gesture within the multilateral arena.