India-Pakistan ICC champions trophy talks discussed during SCO summit? Here's what MEA said

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has denied reports on cricket featuring in talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar in Islamabad. S Jaishankar was in Islamabad for a two-day visit where he led an Indian delegation for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Islamabad.

A brief pull-aside took place between Jaishankar and Dar at a dinner reception hosted by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at his residence for the SCO delegates this week.

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No discussion on ICC Champions Trophy

It was reported that S Jaishankar and Dar had met and discussed about a possible India-Pakistan cricket match soon. Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi, who’s Pakistan’s Interior Minister as the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), was also present there, and reports suggested Jaishankar talked with him regarding the ICC Champions Trophy.

The Ministry of External Affairs in its briefing said the "reports are not accurate". “Whether any conversation regarding cricket happened or not, I would say nothing of that sort happened. And the reports that you saw were not accurate,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a regular media briefing while responding to a question.

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India and Pakistan, cricketing rivals, not played any bilateral series since 2012 when Pakistan toured India for a T20I and ODI series. And since 2008's Asia Cup, India has not played any cricket tournament in Pakistan owing to strained ties between the two nations due to the Mumbai terror attacks.

Pakistan has made three tours to India since 2008 but India hasn't sent its team to Pakistan due to security concerns. However, both the teams have played against each other in ICC tournaments in India and abroad.

S Jaishankar SCO summit Pakistan

S Jaishankar arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday to attend the SCO meeting. During his visit, S Jaishankar met Shehbaz Sharif at the multilateral event but did not hold any bilateral with Pakistan. The external affairs minister and Sharif warmly shook hands, exchanged pleasantries and briefly interacted at the dinner reception.

It was the first time in nearly nine years that India's foreign minister travelled to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours remained tense over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

The last Indian Foreign Minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj. She had travelled to Islamabad to attend the 'Heart of Asia' conference on Afghanistan held on December 8-9, 2015.

(With agency inputs)