Pakistan hosts SCO preparatory meeting; India attends amid Kashmir tensions

Pakistan announced it will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in August 2027, with an Indian delegation led by a senior MEA official attending a preparatory meeting in Islamabad for the first time since Operation Sindoor. The three-day SCO National Coordinators' meeting began on September 29, 2026, amid tensions over terrorism and Kashmir at the UN General Assembly. India rejected Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s reference to Kashmir during his UNGA speech. Indian officials emphasized that their participation in the preparatory meeting had no particular significance for bilateral ties but left open possibilities for higher-level attendance at future events.