External affairs minister S. Jaishankar, after ruling out discussions with Pakistan on the sidelines of the SCO meeting in Islamabad later this month, added a touch of intrigue on Saturday evening when asked which Bollywood film title, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun or Hum Saath Saath Hain, best reflected the bilateral relationship.
Faced with the choice at the Pratidin Time Conclave — organised by the Assamese news channel — Jaishankar wriggled out, saying “ask me this after I return”.
Stating that he will need to think about it, the minister said: “You know I am going to Pakistan. I will leave that film untitled for the moment. Ask me after I return. Will tell.”
This came as a bit of a surprise as the audience appeared to expect him to answer Hum Aapke Hain Kaun but Jaishankar, who seldom lets go of an opportunity to take a swipe at Pakistan, opted for diplomacy.
Earlier in the day, in an interactive session at the IC Centre for Governance after delivering the Sardar Patel Lecture on governance, Jaishankar had ruled out any bilateral meeting with Pakistan during his trip to Islamabad for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting.
“I expect there would be a lot of media interest because the very nature of the relationship is such and I think we’ll deal with it. But I do want to say, it will be for a multilateral event.
“I mean I am not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations. I am going there to be a good member of the SCO. Since I am a courteous and civil person, I will behave myself accordingly,” he said.
Jaishankar is scheduled to lead the Indian delegation to the SCO heads of government meeting in Islamabad on October 15 and 16. Normally, the Prime Minister goes for the high-level heads of state meeting and one of the ministers leads the Indian side for the heads of government meet.
This will be the first visit to Pakistan by a high-ranking Indian minister since December 2015 when Jaishankar’s predecessor Sushma Swaraj went across to attend the Heart of Asia ministerial on Afghanistan.
