Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will leave for the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek tomorrow (Monday) to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and assume its chairmanship for a one-year term. He will hold meetings with participating world leaders on the sidelines, though there is no chance of a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, despite both leaders being under the same roof for two days.

Sources indicated that it is highly unlikely the two will come face-to-face or that Modi will shake hands with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, notwithstanding the Indian leader's known propensity for protocol-flouting hugs with counterparts. Well-placed sources cited the Foreign Office as stating that India has made no formal request for a bilateral meeting.

Confirmed attendees include Chinese President Xi Jinping, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and other member-state leaders. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will call on the host president and confer with other visiting dignitaries, excluding Mr. Modi.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar is set to arrive in Bishkek today (Sunday) following a five-day official visit to the United Kingdom. Discussions at the SCO summit will focus on intra-bloc economic cooperation and counter-terrorism measures, alongside deliberations on the Middle East crisis.