India has sent a senior External Affairs Ministry official to Pakistan for the SCO national coordinators meeting in Islamabad, according to reports.

The visit marks the first Indian official trip to Pakistan in about 18 months. An Additional Secretary-rank MEA officer is participating in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting of national coordinators.

The SCO meet brings together coordinators from member states to prepare agendas ahead of higher-level summits. India’s participation signals that New Delhi wants to stay engaged in the multilateral grouping despite frozen bilateral ties with Islamabad. Coordinators review progress on decisions taken at previous summits and set the calendar for ministerial meetings.

Relations between the two neighbours remain tense, with no composite dialogue in place. Officials on both sides have described the visit as limited to the SCO agenda.

What happens next: the coordinators’ discussions will feed into the SCO’s upcoming calendar, and any sidelines between the two sides will be closely watched.