NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will visit Pakistan to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit this month, the Indian foreign ministry spokesman said on Friday.

Defence expert Robinder Sachdev views India's decision to send External Affairs Minister Jaishankar to the SCO Summit in Pakistan as a deliberate downgrading of its involvement.

Jaishankar will represent India at the two-day SCO meeting of Council of Heads of governments to be held in Islamabad on October 15 and 16. Several leaders from the Eurasian regional forum have already confirmed their participation. Russian and Chinese prime ministers are among the leaders coming to Islamabad for the SCO meeting.

SCO is one of the few international organisations which deal with security issues and primarily has Asian members. What was the context for India and Pakistan becoming its members? We explain.

For India, the SCO offers a key platform for engaging with Central Asian nations, with whom it has historically had limited relations.

Jaishankar is the first Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan since December 2015. Sushma Swaraj was the last Indian foreign minister to visit Islamabad.

Pakistan will deploy its army under Article 245 to ensure security during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit on October 15-16 in Islamabad. The move comes as India confirms its External Affairs Minister Jaishankar's participation,

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a permanent intergovernmental international organization established on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Islamabad on October 15-16.