• PM urges Kabul to prevent cross-border terrorism, asks world to engage with Afghanistan
• Calls out Israeli aggression in Gaza, demands accountability
• Minister refutes ‘rumours’ of multi-party conference

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday asked the interim Afghan government to prevent the use of its soil for terrorism against other countries, as he called for putting up a collective front against terrorism and extremism, in line with the ‘Shanghai spirit’.

The prime minister made these remarks at the 24th summit of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

His 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.

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.

During his address, PM Shehbaz said peace and stability in Afghanistan were the lynchpin to achieving the SCO objective, urging the international community to meaningfully engage with the Afghan government to help meet their economic needs. Similarly, the Taliban government must take effective measures to prevent the use of its soil for terrorism against any other state, he stressed.

“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.

Gaza appeal

He also urged the SCO member states to put in their collective efforts against terrorism, poverty alleviation and dispute resolution, particularly the ongoing Israeli atrocities in Palestine.

PM Shehbaz said that Israel was involved in the genocide of Palestinians and demanded accountability for Israeli forces’ actions.

The International Court of Justice, he said, had also declared Israel’s heinous actions as genocide of the Palestinians. “Israel is wreaking havoc in Gaza and committing war crimes,” the prime minister said, adding that the international community should speed up its efforts for an immediate ceasefire and access to humanitarian aid in Gaza.

“Pakistan is in favour of a two-state solution to the Palestinian issue on the lines of pre-1967 borders with the establishment of a Palestinian state with Al-Quds as its capital,” he added.

‘Effective transregional organisation’

Addressing the SCO summit, the PM said that over the past 23 years, SCO had established itself as a credible and effective transregional organisation. “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,” he added.

The prime minister 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 leadership, the SCO would continue to grow and prosper. He told the international moot that Pakistan aligned itself with the socioeconomic and security objectives of the SCO.

“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 the SCO can help avoid international financial shock. Pakistan supports the proposal of an SCO alternate development fund mechanism to give impetus to various stalled initiatives,” he remarked.

Highlighting Pakistan’s ideal geostrategic location, the premier said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) also supplemented the SCO’s vision of regional connectivity and economic integration.

PM Shehbaz, while calling effective multilateralism a key to addressing regional and global challenges, reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to just and peaceful resolution of outstanding and ongoing disputes, opposing unilateral and illegal use of threats or force, and combating terrorism.

Multi-party conference?

As the PM landed back in Pakistan on Thursday evening, media reports suggested that he had desired to convene a multi-party conference (MPC) to take political stakeholders into confidence over Azm-i-Istehkam, the government new counterterror ‘vision’.

However, a member of the federal cabinet was part of the PM’s entourage told Dawn that this was merely a rumour, and no such decision had been taken as yet.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2024