Pakistan on Friday said it will take a final decision on whether to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) Civilisational Dialogue Forum in India later this month after consultations among relevant institutions.Foreign Office Spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan confirmed at his weekly media briefing that Pakistan had received an invitation from India to attend the November 20-22 meeting to be held in New Delhi.”A final decision on participation will be made by the country’s leadership following institutional consultations,” he said.India has invited all member countries of the SCO, including Pakistan, to the forum being jointly organised by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).The invitation to Islamabad is significant as it is perhaps the first time New Delhi has invited a senior Pakistani minister to an event in India since the military confrontation between the two countries in May last year.Pakistan’s National Heritage and Culture Minister Aurangzeb Khan Khichi is learnt to have been invited to attend the meeting.India had announced on October 28 that invitations had been extended to all SCO members in keeping with established practice.


