Tag: SCO

  • Nawaz Sharif hopeful about meeting Narendra Modi soon

    Nawaz Sharif hopeful about meeting Narendra Modi soon

    Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday expressed his desire to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the near future to advocate for better relations with the neighbouring country.

    During an interview with an Indian journalist, Barkha Dutt, ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Islamabad, Sharif said, “It would have been a great thing if PM [Narendra] Modi had also attended the SCO summit. I do hope that he and us will have an opportunity to sit together in the not-so-distant future.”

    Pak-India relations have gone through upheavals over the last few decades but the 2019 Indian decision to revoke the ‘special status’ of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir downgraded diplomatic relations between the two countries.

    Since then, Pakistan has made it a condition to reverse the decision before any talks of normalisation of relations between the two countries.

  • Modi accuses Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism at SCO Summit

    Modi accuses Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism at SCO Summit

    This year, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) summit was hosted by India, where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched thinly veiled accusations against Pakistan, saying “some countries” are “terror havens“.

    Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was in attendance, along with other SCO member countries leaders, such as Xi Jingping and Vladimir Putin.

    The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic and security organisation, which unites China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and, as of yesterday, Iran. It’s currently the world’s largest regional bloc in terms of geographic scope and population.

    Addressing the online summit, Dawn reports Modi to have said, “Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of their policies, provide shelter to terrorists. SCO should not hesitate to criticise such nations. There should be no place for double standards on such serious matters.”

    India claims that a part of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor passage passes through a ‘disputed’ region. Modi told leaders that “terrorism has become a major threat to regional and global peace. Dealing with this challenge requires decisive action. Regardless of its form or manifestation, we must unite in our fight against terrorism.”

    Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif responded in turn, saying that the SCO stands for observance of the UN principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and people’s right to self-determination, considered a reference to the Kashmir dispute.

    “UNSC resolutions offer us a workable framework for the resolution of longstanding disputes in the region,” Dawn reported Shehbaz to have said. “These must be addressed immediately and settled amicably before it is too late.”

    Kashmir has been a contentious point between the two countries since partition, but especially since India abolished Articles 370 and 35A in 2019. These articles were decades-old and provided a measure of autonomy to the disputed Muslim-majority region.

    In the earlier SCO summit in May, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto criticised India’s decision to scrap the special status of the disputed region of Kashmir, saying New Delhi’s unilateral move in 2019 had undermined the possibility of holding talks between the neighbours.

    India has also accused Pakistan’s military of backing Kashmiri rebels, a claim Islamabad has denied.

  • Rare show of unity as PTI calls out Indian FM for remarks about Bilawal

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders on Twitter strongly called out Indian Foreign Minister (FM) S. Jaishankar after he used undiplomatic language for Pakistan and its FM Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari post an important moot of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

    In a media conference, a visibly rattled Jaishankar called Bilawal a “promoter, justifier and spokesperson of a terrorism industry.”

    “Victims of terrorism do not sit together with its perpetrators to discuss terrorism,” he said, adding that “as a member of SCO, Bilawal was treated accordingly.”

    PTI’s Fawad Chaudhry put aside political differences to respond that the Indian FM should be ashamed for passing such remarks.

    “Pakistan has made great sacrifices in the war against terrorism, now the foreign minister of a Hindu extremist group, who is involved in the worst terrorism against its own citizens, should be ashamed of himself for speaking such nonsense.”

    Similarly, Zulfi Bukhari called this a petty act and reminded India of its values.

    He pointed out, “Whatever happened to mehman bhagwan hota hai? Or has that idea gone down the drain just like a secular India.”

    When Bilawal returned back to the country, he held a press conference to brief members of the media about his visit. He also responded to the remarks made by India’s FM, saying that he can’t do anything if their hatred has risen this much.

    Asking if he ever sat with any terrorist, Bilawal was of the view that India not only wants to declare every Muslim a terrorist but also him.

    The minister added that Pakistan itself is a victim of terrorism and is against any appeasement with terrorist organisations.

  • ‘Of course’: Bilawal confirms he shook hands with Indian FM but no bilateral engagement held

    ‘Of course’: Bilawal confirms he shook hands with Indian FM but no bilateral engagement held

    Pakistani Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who just wrapped up his visit to Goa, said that he did shake hands with his Indian counter partner S. Jaishankar at a dinner that was held in an unofficial capacity.

    During an interview with India Today, Bilawal said, “In all our unofficial engagements we always shake hands and we had dinner conversations amongst other foreign ministers but we did not hold a bilateral engagement.”

    Earlier, when both ministers greeted each other in front of the media they didn’t shake hands and this created headlines in India.

    Clearing up the confusion, Bilawal said that his aim to visit India was to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). “Unless India reviews the action it took on August 5, 2019 (abrogation of Article 370), Pakistan is not in a position to engage bilaterally with India.”

    When pointed out by a journalist that “Pakistan can’t sponsor terror directed against India”, the minister, taking a jibe at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said “This wolf whistling around the word terrorism which is ultimately an Islamophobic wolf whistle not only to whip up Hindu sentiment in India but also to brow beat Pakistan, that might be election strategy for some but not effective terrorism strategy”

    The Pakistani foreign minister said the country wishes to quell terrorism “not because India said it or the Indian government said so, but because we want to end this menace”. He said terrorism has caused the “largest number of casualties” in Pakistan among any of the other SCO countries.

    “India will have to explain what Kulbhushan Jadhav, a state actor, a navy commander, was doing in Pakistan carrying out terrorist attacks on Pakistani soil. Does that not come under cross-border terrorism?” he asked.

    Bilawal also reminded Indian Journalist Rajdeep Sardesai that Pakistan is the only country on Earth that has completed two Financial Action Task Force (FATF) objectives.

    He said that it is not productive for India to continue accusing Pakistan of sponsoring terror activities.

    Pointing out that India violated bilateral agreements and international agreements on Aug 5, 2019, by revoking the special status of Jammu Kashmir, Bilawal Bhutto also mentioned the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombing where around 70 people, mostly Pakistanis, were killed. “We are yet to see any justice,” he reminded Sardesai.

    He repeatedly said that both India and Pakistan have different perspectives on terrorism, adding that Pakistan is “willing to engage with any concerns that India might have but India will also have to address our concerns.”

  • India invites Pakistani FM Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to SCO

    India invites Pakistani FM Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to SCO

    In a surprise move, India has invited Pakistan’s Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to attend an upcoming meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) scheduled to be held in Goa in May, The Indian Express has reported.

    The invitation to the meeting of SCO ministers has been sent by the office of S Jaishankar, the Minister for External Affairs and has been forwarded by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

    Were Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to accept the invitation, the visit would mark the first visit of a Foreign Minister to India in 12 years. The last minister to visit the neighbouring country was Hina Rabbani Khar who travelled to India in July 2011.

    The unexpected development comes a few weeks after Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif expressed hope that relations between the two arch rivals will improve. In an interview with a UAE-based media outlet, the Pakistani Premier asked for “sincere and serious” talks with India.

    The SCO moot in Goa will also be attended by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

  • President of Tajikistan to come to Pakistan for the second time tomorrow

    President of Tajikistan to come to Pakistan for the second time tomorrow

    Tajik President Emomali Rahmon will arrive in Pakistan tomorrow (Wednesday) on a two-day official visit at the invitation of Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif.

    This is the second time that President Rahmon will be meeting PM Shehbaz this year. This tour will be his second visit to Pakistan within two years.

    According to the Pakistani Foreign Office (FO), during Rahmon’s visit, the two sides will exchange views on further strengthening bilateral cooperation in a wide range of areas and are expected to sign multiple bilateral agreements and memorandum of understanding (MoU).

    The FO also termed Tajikistan an “important partner of Pakistan in Central Asia”.

    PM Shehbaz and President Rahmon had last met in September this year at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

    At that time, the Pakistani prime minister thanked Tajikistan for its support to the flood affectees in Pakistan and shared details of the devastation caused by the massive floods.

    President Rahmon last visited Islamabad in June 2021 when former PM Imran Khan was in power.

  • PM Shehbaz uses international platform to plead for action against climate change

    PM Shehbaz uses international platform to plead for action against climate change

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif talked about the ongoing climate change devastation that has been caused by unprecedented floods across Pakistan at Shangai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

    In his speech, the premier stressed that his country’s contribution to the global carbon commission is only 1 per cent. “Our carbon emission is less than one per cent. Yet nature had this in store for us,” Shehbaz Sharif said.

    Moreover, he urged the world to formulate a well-thought-out and sustainable plan to prevent devastating episodes of climate change destruction in the future. “We are going to stand on our own feet but will this be the last time a country is going to fall victim to this devastation”, he asked, as he appealed to the SCO to “build a wall” against the menace of climate change.

    He concluded his speech by reaffirming Pakistan’s “strong and unwavering commitment” to advancing the objectives of the SCO.

    At the international forum, the premier urged the leaders not to ignore Afghanistan at this time.

    He stated that the world would have to work together to support all “good initiatives” in Afghanistan. “It will be a big mistake if we ignore Afghanistan this time around”, he warned.

    Moreover, PM Shehbaz asked the international community to support efforts to build a sustainable Afghan economy. “Unfreezing Afghanistan’s financial assets remains a crucial need in this regard”, he stressed.

    PM Shehbaz meets Chinese President Xi Jinping

    On Friday, PM Shehbaz met Chinese President Xi Jinping at SCO in Uzbekistan.

    In an official statement, the Chinese foreign ministry said that during the meeting, Xi pointed out that China and Pakistan are close neighbours “linked by mountains and rivers and with a shared future”.

    The two countries have all along stood with each other through thick and thin. No matter how the international situation evolves, China and Pakistan are always each other’s trustworthy strategic partners, the statement added.

    President Xi stressed that the two sides must continue to firmly support each other, foster stronger synergy between their development strategies, and harness the role of the Joint Cooperation Committee of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to ensure smooth construction and operation of major projects.

    On Thursday, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that PM Shehbaz had “very successful” talks with Russian President Putin and Chinese President Xi.

    “Both of them have officially invited Shehbaz Sharif to visit their countries. The prime minister has accepted both invitations. There will be a visit to China in November 2022,” the minister confirmed in a tweet.

    Earlier, it was reported that PM Shehbaz would meet Xi Jinping, the Chinese President. However, no plans have been announced of a meeting between the Pakistani Prime Minister and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, who is also attending the SCO.

    Shehbaz Sharif was also scheduled to meet Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev later in the day.

    On Thursday, the prime minister met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iran’s Ebrahim Raisi. He also met with the president of Tajikistan and Kagystan.

    Shehbaz Sharif declared his meetings with the world leaders on Thursday as “productive”.

    “It was a long but productive day in Samarkand. In my meetings with leaders of friendly countries, we agreed on enhancing trade and investment. I explained the flood ravages due to climate change. Food and energy shortages present a real challenge to our shared development agenda,” he tweeted.

    During the meeting with Putin, the Russian president said that pipeline gas supplies to Pakistan are possible, and that part of the necessary infrastructure is already in place.

    After the meeting with Putin, the premier also held a bilateral meeting with Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon.

    The two leaders held wide-ranging talks covering all aspects of mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation, including regional and international issues.

    Shehbaz Sharif thanked Tajikistan for its support to flood affectees in Pakistan and shared details of the devastation caused by the massive floods.

    Since becoming a full member of SCO in 2017, Pakistan has been actively contributing and participating in the activities of the organisation.