Pakistan assumes chair of SCO CHG in Bishkek

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday in a meeting in Bishkek assumed the Chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government (CHG) and this tenure will continue till autumn 2024. 

Pakistan says it will be driven by its steadfast dedication to the SCO charter and efforts for collective prosperity and development.

“During Pakistan’s chair of CHG, top priority will be accorded to fostering cooperation in critical and practical areas. These include enhancing connectivity and transport links, youth empowerment, and investment in key sectors with high regional potential, such as agriculture, mining, minerals, energy, and information technology. Alongside, Pakistan will continue to strengthen cooperation in the fields of education and poverty alleviation,” said the spokeswoman at the Foreign Office.

Representing Pakistan in Bishkek, Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani in his remarks said that the SCO is the key platform for taking the vision of Eurasian connectivity to the next level. “Pakistan’s location at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East which makes it an ideal trade conduit. Investing in our collective connectivity capacities is crucial to advancing our shared vision for an economically integrated region,” he said.

In this context, Pakistan plans to host a conference on transport connectivity for regional prosperity. “Our focus will be on practical collaboration in bolstering connectivity, transport infrastructure, youth empowerment, poverty alleviation and the imperative of investing in high-potential sectors, including agriculture, mining, minerals, energy, and information technology”, he added.

Bishkek saw two foreign ministers, from Pakistan and India representing their governments at the heads of the government meeting and this gave an opportunity for foreign ministers Jalil Abbas Jilani and Dr Jaishankar to shake hands and greet each other. They have both served together in the past in Washington.

“SCO is neither a forum for political point-scoring nor is it mandated to resolve bilateral or trilateral issues. Bringing controversial and disputed issues to SCO can undermine the achievements of SCO for almost a quarter of a century. Keeping SCO free from myopic domestic political considerations and making it work for our region’s shared future are our collective responsibilities,” said Jilani without naming any country.

Earlier at the weekly media briefing, the spokeswoman said that Pakistan’s position on the reform of the United Nations, including the United Nations Security Council, is that it needs to be more responsive to the requirements and needs of the international community, including its proactive role in the resolution of endemic disputes such as the question of Palestine and the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. “We believe the expansion of the Security Council or any reform should be democratic in nature. Instead of creating new centres of privilege, we should democratise the United Nations Security Council to make it more representative, transparent, effective and accountable. The situation in occupied Palestine remains a source of serious concern for Pakistan,” she said.

Pakistan reiterated its full and unequivocal support for Palestinian brothers and sisters in Gaza who are at the receiving end of an inhumane campaign of collective punishment by the Israeli occupation forces. “We mourn over 6,500 civilians killed in Gaza, including 2,700 children, as a result of Israel’s relentless and indiscriminate bombardment,” she said.

Pakistan commended the services of doctors, paramedics and first responders who continue to serve their fellow human beings despite the challenging circumstances and personal hardship.

“We also salute the journalists and workers of UNRWA and other UN organisations for making the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. We regret that despite the rising death toll, flagrant violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes and calls for ethnic cleansing, the UN Security Council has failed to even call for a ceasefire and put an end to the carnage in Gaza,” she added.

Without naming anyone, the spokeswoman said, “We urge the backers of Israel to play their role in bringing an end to this atrocity and take effective steps to lift the siege of Gaza and support a sustainable pipeline of life-saving humanitarian assistance, including water, fuel, food, and medicines for the besieged people of Gaza. The international community must also ensure that the violence and the bombing campaign do not spread and engulf the entire Middle East”.

Pakistan believes that durable peace in the Middle East will emerge from a two-state solution and the creation of a secure, viable, contiguous, and sovereign state of Palestine based on the pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. The script she said is being enacted by Israeli occupation forces in Palestine is being replicated by India in IIOJK with egregious human rights violations and blatantly illegal attempts to change the demographic nature of the occupied territory.

“Like the Palestinian people, the people of Jammu and Kashmir continue to wait for the UN Security Council to ensure the implementation of its own resolutions that recognise their right to self-determination. Rooted in the colonial past, the Jammu and Kashmir dispute like the Palestine question has been on the UN Security Council’s agenda for over seven decades,” she noted.