India has invited all 10 member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), including Pakistan, to participate in its first Civilisational Dialogue Forum to take place in New Delhi from November 20 to 22, 2026. The invitation comes nearly 18 months after Operation Sindoor, the Indian military operation launched following the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir in April 2025.
Pakistan’s Minister for National Heritage and Culture Aurangzeb Khan Khichi is among those invited, reported Indian media. The invitation is despite the continuing tension between India and Pakistan, which deteriorated further after the military clash in May 2025.
They added that invitations were extended to all SCO member countries as part of the multilateral initiative. So it should be seen in the context of the organisation's activities and not as a change in India's bilateral policy towards Pakistan. Pakistan has not yet confirmed its participation.
SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum to be held in Delhi
The first SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum will be organized jointly by India’s Ministry of Culture and Ministry of External Affairs. It is meant to promote cultural exchanges and people-to-people connections, and the awareness of SCO civilisational heritage and traditions.
Narendra Modi proposed the forum at the SCO leaders' summit in Tianjin, China, in September 2025. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh later announced India’s plan to host the first edition while speaking at the 25th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on October 20, 2026.
The forum will bring together SCO member countries and other invited countries to discuss cultural heritage, civilisational links and cooperation.
The SCO has 10 members: India, Pakistan, China, Russia, Iran, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The forum provides a multilateral platform for these countries to talk about cultural issues despite differences in their bilateral relationships.
Pakistan Minister among those invited
Pakistan's National Heritage and Culture Minister Aurangzeb Khan Khichi has been invited to attend the Delhi forum. If he attends, the visit would be a Pakistani minister's return to India for an SCO-related meeting after the foreign ministers' meeting in May 2023 in Goa.
Pakistan’s then foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended the meeting, which brought together representatives of the member states of the organisation.
India and Pakistan have continued to participate in SCO activities despite their strained bilateral relations. In October 2024, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar traveled to Islamabad to attend the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting. The visit was the first of an Indian external affairs minister to Pakistan in nine years.
The upcoming cultural forum is another example of engagement through a multilateral organisation. However, Pakistan's participation is not confirmed as the invitation does not signal the start of the bilateral dialogue.
Operation Sindoor and India-Pakistan tensions
The invitation comes in the wake of the military battle that followed the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025, in which 26 people were killed.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025—a campaign to tackle what it termed terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The operation followed a period of military escalation between the two countries before a ceasefire was announced on May 10.
According to Indian government accounts at the time, Indian forces struck nine terrorist camps, and the Indian Air Force also attacked Pakistani military bases. The encounter dramatically intensified tensions between the two neighbouring countries.
Since then, India has continued to raise terrorism-related concerns at international and regional forums. The SCO is one of the multilateral platforms that both countries are members.
Rajnath Singh Raises Terrorism at SCO Meeting
India reiterated its position on terrorism during the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Dushanbe on October 20, 2026.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called for collective action against terrorism and said there could be no justification for the threat or double standards in addressing it. He spoke in the presence of Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ishaq Dar.
The statement also highlighted India’s continued emphasis on counterterrorism cooperation at international forums, even as it participates in multilateral initiatives involving Pakistan.
India's invitation to Pakistan for the Civilisational Dialogue Forum should be seen alongside this continued engagement with SCO. The cultural initiative is intended to promote exchanges among member countries, and India’s concerns about terrorism are part of its regional diplomatic position.
What does the invitation mean for India-Pakistan relations?
The invitation illustrates the distinction between India’s participation in multilateral organisations and bilateral relations with Pakistan. Both countries are still members of the SCO and can be involved in regional cooperation, economic relations and cultural exchanges.
The Delhi forum is specifically focused on civilisational heritage and cultural understanding. It may offer opportunities for representatives of member countries to meet, but the event should not be seen as a sign of a wider diplomatic breakthrough.
Whether Pakistan’s culture minister attends will be an important detail to watch as the November meeting approaches.
For now, India has invited all SCO member countries, including Pakistan, reflecting the initiative's multilateral nature. The forum is scheduled for November 20–22, 2026, at a time when India is still advocating for collective action against terrorism while also playing a part in the diplomatic arena of the rest of the region.
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