Tension between India and Pakistan hasn’t de-escalated and it became apparent during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. During the SCO summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan counterpart Imran Khan sat across the table at a dinner and didn't even talk with each other.
According to Indian Express, both Modi and Khan sat across the table at a dinner at the Frunze restaurant, but there was no exchange of pleasantries. “Koi dua-salaam nahin hua (there was no exchange of pleasantries),” a source told The Indian Express, after the dinner.
Khan and Modi are in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek for the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. Earlier, in an interview to Russian news agency Sputnik before heading to Bishkek, Khan said the SCO summit provided him an opportunity to speak to the Indian leadership to improve ties between the two neighbours. Khan said the SCO summit provided Pakistan a "fresh outlet" to develop its relationship with other countries, including India. "At the moment, our bilateral relationship with India is, probably, at its lowest point," he said. Khan said Pakistan was open for "any kind of mediation" and seeks peace with all its neighbours, especially with India, asserting that the three "small wars" have damaged both the countries that now grapple with the "greatest amount of poverty".
Khan said the emphasis should be on peace and resolving differences through dialogue. "Our main difference with India is Kashmir. And if the heads of two countries resolve, if two governments decide, this issue can be resolved. But, unfortunately, we have not had much success from India so far," he said. "But we hope now that the current prime minister has one big mandate, we hope that he will use this mandate to develop better relationship and bring peace in the subcontinent," Khan said. He said he believed that the money should be spent on getting people out of poverty, citing China's example which has lifted millions of people out of poverty.
