India has invited Pakistan’s Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Aurangzeb Khan Khichi, to attend the first Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Civilisational Dialogue Forum in New Delhi from November 20 to 22, The Indian Express and India Today reported, citing diplomatic sources.
The invitation marks the first time India has invited a senior Pakistani minister to an event in the country since Operation Sindoor in May 2025, launched following the Pahalgam terror attack.
If Khichi attends, it would be the first visit to India by a senior Pakistani minister since then Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari travelled to Goa in May 2023 for an SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting.
India has invited all 10 SCO member states to the forum, which aims to strengthen cultural ties and promote mutual understanding among participating countries.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced the initiative at the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on October 20.
“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.
During the meeting, Singh also called for a firm and consistent approach to combating terrorism, saying there should be no double standards in dealing with the issue.
“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's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar was present at the meeting.
The invitation comes amid strained relations between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor, which escalated tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in May 2025.
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 has 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 organisation has 15 dialogue partners.