Imran Khalid is a Karachi-based geostrategic analyst and freelance writer.
The prospect of diplomatic engagement between India and Pakistan remains faint, despite the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit being hosted in Islamabad on Oct. 15-16. Hopes, if any, for a thaw between the two nations had already been dimmed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to stay away from this gathering. Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will attend instead.