• Over 10,000 law enforcers deployed for security; offices, markets, educational institutions, metro bus service shut
• Dar urges PTI to call off its protest plan
• Bilateral talks with several states on the card

ISLAMABAD: Foreign dignitaries started arriving in Islamabad for preparatory meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit as Pakistan prepares to host the 23rd summit of the bloc on Oct 15 and 16 amid stringent security measures.

Informed sources told Dawn that a four-member delegation from India, 76 delegates from Russia, 15 representatives of China, a two-member team from Iran and a four-member delegation from Kyrgyzstan reached Islamabad on Sunday.

Seven delegates of SCO also arrived in the capital.

The Army has already been called in to provide security for the event. As part of its duties, it will also oversee security of key government buildings and Red Zone.

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Rangers have already been deployed in the capital.

Moreover, the federal government has deployed over 10,000 police personnel for the security of about 900 delegates.

The metro bus service in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi will remain suspended during the summit, and the government has announced three days’ holidays for public offices, educational institutions, and commercial centres in Islamabad.

All marriage halls will also remain closed to ensure smooth proceedings of the summit.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said on Sunday all arrangements had been made to host the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of SCO meeting.

Talking to reporters after his visit to review arrangements made for the meeting, Mr Dar said certain countries excluding India had requested for bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the CHG-SCO which were finalised.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar accompanied the deputy PM during a walk with reporters to provide them with first-hand information about preparations for the summit.

Mr Dar urged PTI to call off its protest plan on Oct 15 in the larger national interest.

He said it is not good for the PTI to repeat the scenario of 2014. He recalled that due to the PTI’s protest at that time, the Chinese president’s visit had been postponed.

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The PTI, he pointed out, also stayed away from the recent multi-party conference on Gaza, wondering what message it wanted to give to people through these actions.

Mr Dar said PTI had “crossed all red lines in the past and attacked state institutions”. He stressed the PTI leadership to rectify its decision and call off their protest on Oct 15 in the larger national interest.

About invitation to Afghanistan, he said that since 2021, the Observers Status of the country had virtually been suspended as Afghanistan had neither been invited to nor participated in the SCO meetings.

Therefore, he added, Pakistan could not take a decision alone in this regard as the decisions were taken on the SCO forum by member states.

The deputy prime minister said the entire region required integration and peace and it is the core objective of the PML-N leadership.

The foreign minister advised those who talk about Pakistan’s diplomatic isolation to reassess their position as the country had become the hub of regional trade and investment and referred to recent visits of Malaysian prime minister and the Saudi delegation in this regard.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2024