Shehbaz asks Kabul to take tough line on terror

ASTANA/ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday asked the Afghan interim government to take effective measures to prevent the use of its soil for terrorism against any other state. He was addressing the 24th summit of the Council of Heads of State of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which commenced here.

Titled “Strengthening Multilateral Dialogue — Striving Towards a Sustainable Peace and Prosperity,” the summit is being attended by leaders from Pakistan, China, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkiye, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, India and others.

Calling lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan linchpin to achieving the SCO objectives, he urged the international community to meaningfully engage with the interim Afghan government to help meet their economic needs. “Recent terror activities have been a matter of great concern for all of us. Terrorism and extremism by individuals, groups or states must be fought collectively in a comprehensive fashion. Terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including state terrorism, must be condemned in clear and unambiguous terms. There can neither be any justification for killing innocent people nor should the bogey of terrorism be used for political point-scoring,” he said and emphasized outlawing Islamophobia universally.

He said Pakistan opposed divisive policies based on prejudice and discrimination, inciting hate on a racial and religious basis. He emphasised the need to ensure respect for the universally recognized principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and people’s fundamental right to self-determination and said the UN Security Council resolutions offered a workable framework to resolve long-standing disputes, including those in the region. “Failure to implement these resolutions had brought unimaginable suffering to the people. One of the worst examples is Palestine where 37,000 civilians, mostly women and children, have been killed, and over two million displaced due to Israeli indiscriminate and unabated bombing,” he said.

Reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to the SCO objectives of peace and prosperity, Shehbaz urged the member states to put in their collective efforts against terrorism, poverty alleviation and dispute resolution, particularly the ongoing Israeli barbarism in Palestine. Shehbaz urged the SCO to denounce this barbarism and called for an immediate ceasefire leading to the implementation of a two-state solution which should include the establishment of a contiguous Palestine state with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds as its capital.

“I reaffirm Pakistan’s commitment to working together to strengthen SCO as an active and integrated regional forum to achieve the common objective of peace and prosperity in line with the Shanghai spirit,” the prime minister said.

The prime minister’s address encompassed all major regional and international issues including terrorism and extremism, Islamophobia, instability in Afghanistan, poverty, climate change, regional connectivity and resolution of disputes.

Shehbaz said that Astana held significance for Pakistan where the country had formally joined the SCO in 2017 and congratulated Belarus for being the newest member. He also felicitated Chinese President Xi Jinping on assuming the SCO chairmanship for 2024-25 and expressed confidence that under his visionary leadership, SCO would continue to grow and prosper.

He told the international gathering that Pakistan aligned itself with the socioeconomic and security objectives of SCO as the country’s association with SCO went back centuries. He said during 23 years, the SCO had established itself as a credible and effective transregional organization. He said contemporary realities of globalization and interdependence necessitated working together and joining hands for a secure, peaceful and prosperous future for our people.

“SCO leaders have repeatedly underscored the importance of investing in connectivity in the SCO region through transport corridors and reliable supply chains. Promoting the use of national currencies within SCO can help avoid international financial shock. Pakistan supports the proposal of an SCO alternative development fund mechanism to give impetus to various stalled initiatives,” he remarked. Highlighting Pakistan’s ideal geostrategic location, the prime minister said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) — a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) — also supplemented the SCO’s vision of regional connectivity and economic integration.

Coming to the climate change challenge, he called for a collective and urgent global response and reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to working for a sustainable and nature-positive world. He told the gathering of SCO leaders that the rise in political and military conflicts across the globe and consequent hike in energy and food prices worsened the post-COVID recession seriously affecting the member states’ ability to address poverty. He said Pakistan would do its utmost to provide impetus to raise the living standards of people in the SCO member states.

The prime minister told the gathering that as the current chair of the SCO Council of Heads of Government, Pakistan had already proposed to hold the next CHG meeting on October 15-16 this year and looked forward to hosting all leaders in Islamabad. He said Pakistan would strive to adopt forward looking initiatives to promote steady development and sought active and positive collaboration of all SCO member states.

Meanwhile, Shehbaz interacted with world leaders on the sidelines of the summit. He interacted with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and President Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus, and discussed bilateral and other matters of mutual interest. He also joined the participating leaders to sign the declaration of the summit.

Ayaz Akbar Yousafzai from Islamabad adds: Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to organise an all-parties conference “to gain political parties’ confidence in Operation Azm-e-Istehkam”.

He is likely to fly back home early morning Friday after concluding his official foreign visit. The federal cabinet last week approved the launch of counter-terrorism operation following the National Action Plan’s Central Apex Committee’s recommendations to turn up the heat on militants targeting Pakistan.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had said that the new counter-terrorism push was approved with the consensus of all stakeholders including the provinces, Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). However, the opposition parties, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam Fazl (JUI-F), Awami National Party (ANP) and others have voiced concerns over the military operation, demanding that parliament must be taken into confidence before taking any such decision. In response to the criticism, the PMO had clarified that “no large-scale military operation is being launched” in the country.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, in an interview with Voice of America, said that Pakistan could target terrorist hideouts across the border in Afghanistan under the new anti-terrorism operation. He also promised that any political parties’ concerns on the operation would be addressed, and the government would bring the matter to the assembly to answer questions and build trust among members.