Speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq and Indian Minister of External Affairs Jaishankar shook hands in Dhaka on Wednesday. This marks the first high-level contact between Pakistan and Indian officials since the military conflict in May 2025.
Relations between Islamabad and New Delhi have been totally stalled since the four-day military conflict between the two countries. Following the attack in Pahalgam, India accused Pakistan of orchestrating the attack in IIOJK while Islamabad vehemently denied these accusations.
A few days after the attack, India inlaunched an unprovoked attack on Pakistan, claiming that it had hid terrorist hideouts in Pakistan. A press release from the National Assembly Secretariat state that during the Sadiq’s visit to Dhaka for former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s state funeral, Jaishankar approached him for a handshake.
During Speaker NA Sardar Ayaz Sadiq’s visit to the Parliament of Bangladesh to inscribe remarks in the condolence book placed for the Late Begum Khaleda ZIa, in the presence of foreign ministers and delegates of different countries, the Indian External Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar… pic.twitter.com/kBi6vnOIIC
— National Assembly 🇵🇰 (@NAofPakistan) December 31, 2025
The press release added that since the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan has consistently emphasized the dialogue. Following the Pahalgam attack, India took a raft of unilateral diplomatic measures against Pakistan.
“During Speaker NA Sardar Ayaz Sadiq’s visit to the Parliament of Bangladesh to inscribe remarks in the condolence book placed for the Late Begum Khaleda ZIa, in the presence of foreign ministers and delegates of different countries, the Indian External Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar approached the Speaker National Assembly and shaked hands.”
“During this interaction, Dr. S. Jaishankar introduced himself to the Speaker and told the Speaker that he had recognized him. This interaction marked the first significant high-level contact initiated by the Indian side following the Pakistan-India conflict in May 2025.”
“It is noteworthy that Pakistan has consistently emphasized dialogue, restraint, and cooperative measures, including proposals for peace talks and joint investigations into the alleged False Flag Pahalgam incident, in order to prevent unprovoked aggression and escalation,” read the official statement by National Assembly of Pakistan.
In an interview with the local media, Ayaz Sadiq claims that Jaishankar knew what he was doing.
“I was speaking with Pakistan’s high commissioner to Bangladesh when he came up to me, greeted me, and introduced himself. As I was about to introduce myself, he said, Excellency, I recognise who you are and no need to introduce yourself,” said Ayaz Sadiq.
“He knew exactly what he was doing and that it would be covered by the media,” Sadiq remarked.
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India took several measures, including the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, a 1960 pact that was brokered by the World Bank between the two countries regarding the sharing of the shared water resources. Pakistan called the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty as an act of hostility.
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s Foreign Officer sounded the alarm on New Delhi’s weaponization of water, following the abrupt variations in the flow on the Chenab River and Jhelum Rivers, which caused trouble among farmers in Pakistan’s Punjab. At the time,
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar noted that the permanent court of arbitration had also reaffirmed the continued validity of the treaty and its dispute resolution mechanisms. According to the officials present, Jai Shankar walked over to Sadiq’s seat and greeted him with a handshake.
The Pakistani speaker returned with a smile. The two exchanged brief pleasantries and enquired about each other’s well-being. However, no formal talks were reported between the two officials. Despite the ceasefire, the relations between the two countries remained suspended. There was no substantive dialogue between the two countries.
