India has invited Pakistan’s Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Aurangzeb Khan Khichi, to the first Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Civilisational Dialogue Forum in New Delhi from November 20 to 22, diplomatic sources said. India has invited all 10 SCO member states to the forum.
The invitation comes amid strained India-Pakistan ties following Operation Sindoor, launched by India in May 2025 after the Pahalgam terror attack, and marks the first such invitation to a senior Pakistani minister since the military operation.
If Khichi attends, it would mark the first visit by a senior Pakistani minister to India since then Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Goa in May 2023.Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced the forum at the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on October 20, saying all member states had been invited.
“At the end of this year, India will host the first SCO Civilisation Dialogue Forum. We invite all SCO countries to participate in it,” Singh said.
The forum is intended to strengthen cultural ties and promote mutual understanding among member states.
At the meeting, Singh also called for a firm and consistent approach to terrorism, stressing that there should be no double standards.“There should be no double standards in dealing with terrorism, and no place for those who finance, support or provide safe havens to terrorists. The entire ecosystem of terrorism must be firmly and collectively dismantled,” he said.
Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar was present at the meeting.
Pakistan assumed the rotating chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State for the 2026-27 term on September 1, taking over from Kyrgyzstan following the summit in Bishkek.
The SCO comprises 10 member states: Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India became a full member in 2017.
Afghanistan and Mongolia hold observer status, while the grouping also has 15 dialogue partners.