Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has accused Islamabad once again of sponsoring cross-border terrorism against India.
India widely suspects Pakistan of harboring terrorist groups that work against Indian interests in its territory.
Speaking during a joint press conference with Panama Foreign Minister Janaina Tewaney, the Indian Minister said, "It's very difficult to engage with a neighbor who practices cross-border terrorism against us. We've always said that they've to deliver on commitment to not sponsor and carry out cross-border terrorism. We continue to hope that one day we would reach that stage."
A recent attack on an Indian Army convoy killed five soldiers in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed's* affiliate organisation PAFF subsequently took responsibility for the ambush of troops in Poonch.
Pakistan FM to Visit India, First Time in Almost 12 Years
Jaishankar's remarks against Islamabad come just 10 days before Bilawal is scheduled to attend the Foreign Ministers meeting of the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Goa on 4-5 May.
Last week, Pakistan's Foreign Office confirmed that Bilawal would lead Islamabad's discussions at the regional grouping's meeting in the world's largest democratic nation.
"Our participation at the meeting reflects Pakistan's continued commitment to the SCO charter and process and the importance that Pakistan accords to the region in its foreign policy priorities," Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told reporters in Islamabad.
On his part, the Pakistani Foreign Minister has cleared the air about if he would have one-to-one talks with the Indian leadership during his time in the neighboring country by saying that his visit shouldn't be viewed with a bilateral lense.
"We are committed to the SCO charter and this visit should not be seen as a bilateral one but in the context of the SCO," Bilawal was quoted as telling a Pakistani news outlet.
Bilawal would become the first Pakistani politician to arrive in India since the country's longest-serving Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited New Delhi in 2014.
Bilateral ties between India and Pakistan have remained suspended after New Delhi scrapped the special status of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir state in 2019, dividing it into two centrally-governed union territories of Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir.
*a terror group banned in Russia and other countries