It’s up to India, Pakistan to decide on scope and role of any bilateral dialogue: Miller

• US State Department spokesperson says US values relations with both Pakistan and India

WASHINGTON: US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated that the United States valued its relationships with both Pakistan and India and it is up to both the countries to make a decision regarding the scope and role of any bilateral dialogue.

In response to the meeting between Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and Pakistani leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, Miller emphasised that the US maintained bilateral relations with both countries.

He added that the scope and nature of any discussions between the two nations was a matter for Pakistan and India to decide among themselves.

Reacting to the meeting between India’s External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with Pakistani leaders during the summit, Miller said: “We have bilateral relations with Pakistan and India. The US values its relations with both countries.”

Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar visited Islamabad for the SCO meeting, where he attended a luncheon hosted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and had an informal meeting with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

Both Pakistan and India witnessed their usually contentious relations ease during the SCO Council of Heads of Government Summit that welcomed top leaders of member countries in the federal capital.

India, ensuring its participation in the high-level summit, sent its External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who termed the event as a “productive meeting”, soon after his speech on October 16.

Jaishankar, who attended the SCO moot held in Islamabad, was the first foreign minister of the neighbouring country to visit Pakistan in nearly a decade.

“Signed eight outcome documents. India made a positive and constructive contribution to the deliberations,” he wrote on X.

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