No Bilateral Meeting or Handshake Reported Between Khawaja Asif and Rajnath Singh in Bishkek

India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif both attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on April 28, but no bilateral meeting or public handshake took place between them.

Rajnath Singh addressed the gathering in the presence of Khawaja Asif and other counterparts.

Pakistani officials and media noted the presence of both ministers at the multilateral event, but confirmed there was no scheduled or held bilateral engagement between the two. No photographs or reports of a handshake or formal interaction between Rajnath Singh and Khawaja Asif have emerged from the meeting.

The SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting served as a platform for regional security discussions, including counter-terrorism cooperation, amid ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan. The two defence ministers were present in the same hall during the plenary sessions, but their interaction remained limited to the multilateral setting without any direct bilateral contact.

This reflects the current state of India-Pakistan defence-level engagement, which remains minimal and confined to multilateral forums rather than direct dialogue. No breakthroughs or additional engagements were announced.