Jaishankar briefly interacts with Shehbaz Sharif at SCO reception

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday exchanged pleasantries with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, hours after landing in the Pakistani capital in the first such visit from New Delhi in nearly a decade.

The brief exchange and handshake between Jaishankar and Sharif took place at a banquet dinner hosted by the Pakistani prime minister at his residence in honour of the delegates attending a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

The Pakistan prime minister greeted all the leaders of the delegations of the SCO member nations at the banquet reception.

Pakistan is hosting the SCO meeting under tight security and the capital city has almost been under lockdown. The main conclave will be held on Wednesday.

It is understood that Jaishankar also exchanged pleasantries with Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar at the reception.

Earlier, Jaishankar's aircraft landed at the Nur Khan airbase on the outskirts of the Pakistani capital city at around 3.30 pm (local time) and he was greeted by senior Pakistani officials.

It is 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 external affairs minister will lead the Indian delegation at the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) summit on Wednesday.

"Landed in Islamabad to take part in SCO Council of Heads of Government Meeting," Jaishankar posted on 'X' along with photographs of children and officials welcoming him with flowers at the airport.

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

Jaishankar, then India's foreign secretary, was part of Swaraj's delegation.

During the visit, Swaraj held talks with her then counterpart Sartaj Aziz.

Following the Swaraj-Aziz talks, a joint statement was released in which both sides announced their decision to start a Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue.

A little over two weeks after Swaraj's trip, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sprang a surprise with a 150-minute visit to Lahore on his way back home from Kabul.

Modi visited the ancestral home of his then-Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif and had talks to open ways for peace.

However, a series of terror attacks on India by Pakistan-based terrorists significantly strained the ties subsequently.

Before Jaishankar left for Pakistan, India on Tuesday said it remains actively engaged in various mechanisms of the SCO.