External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, set to visit Pakistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit later this month, emphasized on Saturday that his visit is strictly for the multilateral event and not for bilateral discussions with Pakistan.

Speaking to reporters, Jaishankar stated, "The visit is for a multilateral event. I’m not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations. I’m attending as a responsible member of the SCO. But, as a courteous person, I will behave accordingly."

The SCO summit, scheduled for October 15-16 in Islamabad, will mark the first visit by a high-ranking Indian minister to Pakistan in nearly a decade. The last visit by an Indian External Affairs Minister was by Sushma Swaraj in 2015 for an Afghanistan conference. Pakistan extended an invitation to India, which was confirmed on August 30.

Jaishankar also commented on the heightened tensions in the Middle East, calling the situation a "great cause of concern." With conflict escalating between Israel and Lebanon and tensions brewing with Iran, he remarked, "The conflict is widening... What began as a terrorist attack is now evolving into a broader regional confrontation."