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. Addressing the 24th summit of the Council of Heads of State of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, he reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the SCO objectives of peace and prosperity, urging member states to put in their collective efforts against terrorism, poverty alleviation and dispute resolution.
The Prime Minister put across effectively Pakistan’s point of view not only on the issue of terrorism, which he emphasized should be condemned in clear and unambiguous terms, but also other issues of interest to the country, the region and the international community like Islamophobia, instability in Afghanistan, climate change, regional connectivity and resolution of all disputes posing threats to different regions and beyond. Shehbaz Sharif rightly tried to sensitize the member states about the serious issue of terrorism emanating from the Afghan soil as promotion of peace and security was the fundamental objective of the organization. The member states are engaged in hectic activities both from the platform of the SCO as well as bilaterally to promote economic cooperation and regional connectivity but their success hinges on durable peace and security in Afghanistan and a clear and verifiable commitment on the part of the Taliban Government not to allow their soil for terrorist activities against other countries. Pakistan has genuine grievances against the Kabul regime as concrete evidence has repeatedly been provided to the Afghan Government about involvement of TTP elements in killing of innocent people in Pakistan. Kabul has been asked time and again either to take firm action against TTP elements enjoying safe havens in Afghanistan or expel them but response of the Taliban Government has been evasive. We hope that the SCO would take up the issue proactively as its chairmanship goes to President Xi Jinping for the year 2024-25 whose nationals became repeated target of terrorist activities carried out by Afghan-based TTP. This is important as Pakistan has taken comprehensive measures to improve security of foreign nationals, especially Chinese working on developmental projects in the country but the threat cannot be eliminated without active cooperation of the Kabul administration. We hope that the Taliban regime would respond positively to the fresh appeal of the Prime Minister of Pakistan as Afghanistan would be the major beneficiary of durable peace, security and progress in the region. This is because all inter-region and intra-regions plans and projects are directly linked to peace and security in the war-torn country. It was with this objective that despite its serious grievances vis-à-vis the laxity of the Taliban authorities towards the threat posed by TTP terrorists in Afghanistan, Pakistan launched a strong appeal from the platform of SCO to the international community to engage Afghanistan economically to help overcome its vulnerabilities. The Prime Minister’s reference to state-sponsored terrorism was also quite relevant in the backdrop of authentic evidence of Indian hand in terrorist activities and acts of sabotage in Balochistan, KP and Karachi as well as what the Indian occupation forces are doing to Kashmiris waging peaceful struggle for their right to self-determination. The objectives of peace and security cannot be meaningfully realized without a sustained focus on dispute resolution. Islamophobia is yet another issue of serious concern not only to Pakistan but to the entire Muslim world. In view of the sensitivity of the issue, it has repeatedly been taken up by the Russian President Putin in his statements in the recent past and hopefully this concern would be reflected in overall policies and programmes of the SCO.
