The Musadik Malik India visit is set for November 20 to 22, when Pakistan's Climate Change Minister will travel to New Delhi to represent the country at a regional conference. The foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday that Malik will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Civilizational Dialogue. It is a rare trip for a Pakistani federal minister to India, and it comes at a time of tension between the two neighbours.
The SCO is a regional grouping of countries, and the Civilizational Dialogue is a forum focused on exchanges among civilizations and between people. In its statement, the ministry said Pakistan remains committed to promoting such dialogue and building people-to-people contacts within the SCO framework. Whether Malik will hold separate talks with Indian officials during the visit has not been announced.
Why this trip stands out
The trip will be the first to India by a Pakistani federal minister since former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended an SCO meeting in Goa in May 2023. It is also the first such visit since the two countries fought a four-day conflict in May 2025. That fighting followed an armed attack in Kashmir that killed more than two dozen tourists, mostly Hindus.
India and Pakistan are both nuclear-armed and have fought several wars since gaining independence in 1947, mostly over Kashmir, which both countries claim. New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing the Kashmir attack, a charge Pakistan has strongly denied. The clashes that followed involved missile, drone and artillery fire, along with tit-for-tat diplomatic measures, and more than 70 people were reported dead.
What happens next
Malik is scheduled to attend the SCO Civilizational Dialogue in New Delhi from November 20 to 22. What the forum will produce has not yet been announced. Pakistan has framed its participation around dialogue and people-to-people contact, so the wider significance of the Musadik Malik India visit will depend on what follows.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- May 2023: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attends an SCO meeting in Goa, the last visit to India by a Pakistani federal minister before this one.
- May 2025: Armed gunmen kill more than two dozen tourists in Kashmir. India accuses Pakistan of backing the attack, which Pakistan denies, and a four-day conflict follows.
- Saturday: Pakistan's foreign ministry announces that Musadik Malik will represent the country at the SCO Civilizational Dialogue.
- November 20 to 22: The SCO Civilizational Dialogue takes place in New Delhi.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Pakistan ne elan kiya hai ke Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik 20 se 22 November tak New Delhi mein SCO ke Civilizational Dialogue mein Pakistan ki numaindagi karenge. Yeh May 2023 ke baad kisi Pakistani federal minister ka India ka pehla daura hai, aur dono mulkon ke taluqat abhi tanav ka shikar hain. Aam logon ke liye is daure se qeemton, bijli ke bills ya safar mein koi fori tabdeeli ka elan nahi hua. Is daure ke nateejay abhi tay nahi hue, lekin yeh official rabta ka ek mauqa hai.
