Pakistan names Indus treaty critic for first ministerial visit to India since 2023
Climate minister Musadik Malik will attend the SCO Civilisational Dialogue in New Delhi from November 20 to 22, Islamabad said.
Pakistan will send Climate Change Minister Musadik Masood Malik to New Delhi for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting this month. It will be the first visit to India by a Pakistani federal minister in more than three years, The Hindu, The Straits Times and The Economic Times reported on Saturday.
Islamabad said Dr Malik would represent Pakistan at the SCO Civilisational Dialogue from November 20 to 22. The last Pakistani minister to travel to India was Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who attended an SCO foreign ministers' meeting in Goa in May 2023.
In a statement, which The Straits Times attributed to the foreign ministry, Pakistan said it "remains committed to promoting dialogue among civilisations" within the SCO framework.
The Hindu reported that Dr Malik has been a vocal critic of India's decision to hold the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty "in abeyance" after the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which the paper dated to April 2025. At a press conference in June this year, he said Pakistan would "cut off those hands" trying to control the Indus waters, according to the newspaper.
The nuclear-armed neighbours fought a four-day conflict in May 2025. The Straits Times, carrying an AFP report, said the fighting followed the killing of more than two dozen tourists, mostly Hindus, by gunmen in Kashmir. New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing the attack, which Pakistan denied. Exchanges of missile, drone and artillery fire left more than 70 people dead.
Pakistan did not send the minister India had invited. The Hindu reported on October 28 that New Delhi had invited Aurungzeb Khan Khichi, Pakistan's Minister for National Heritage and Culture. It was the first ministerial-level invitation since 2023.
On Friday, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said India and Pakistan shared a "civilisational and cultural" past and that New Delhi hoped Pakistan would attend. He said Pakistan had "separated from us less than 100 years ago", The Hindu reported. According to Mr Shekhawat, the dialogue was first proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is meant to strengthen cultural ties beyond geopolitical, strategic and bilateral relations. China, Kazakhstan, Iran, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have confirmed they will take part.
Soon after his comments, the Ministry of External Affairs said India would follow "national policy" on Pakistan in view of the Pahalgam attack. The Hindu said this suggested Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann may not be cleared to attend an international Punjabi cultural conference in Lahore at the end of the month.
Sources: The Hindu, Amidst Indus water tensions, Pakistan to send vocal critic to SCO Civilisational Dialogue; first Ministerial visit in three years; The Straits Times, Pakistan says minister to make rare India visit for regional talks; The Economic Times, Pak minister Malik to attend SCO Dialogue in Delhi.
