ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will host leaders from Russia, Iran, India, China and other regional nations today, Tuesday, for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) 23rd Council of Heads of Government summit in Islamabad where important discussions related to multilateral cooperation in economy, trade and militancy is expected to take place.
Pakistan’s capital Islamabad has been in lockdown ahead of the two-day conference scheduled for Oct. 15-16, with some its main arteries blocked amid heightened presence of police and paramilitary forces in various parts of the city. The government has announced a three-day public holiday in Islamabad starting Monday, with schools and businesses closed due to security concerns ahead of the meeting.
The SCO is sometimes touted as an alternative to the Western-dominated NATO military alliance. The prime ministers of Russia, China, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are expected to take part in the summit while India’s foreign minister and Iran’s first vice president are also expected to attend the regional event. Mongolia’s prime minister will attend the event as an observer while the deputy chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and foreign minister of Turkmenistan has been invited as a special guest.
“Pakistan is all set to host meeting of the Council of the Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Islamabad on Tuesday and Wednesday,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said in a report.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will chair the CHG session and is expected to hold meetings with regional leaders on the sidelines of the event. SCO leaders will adopt important organizational decisions to further enhance cooperation among member states and approve the inter-governmental body’s budget during the summit.
Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang arrived in Islamabad on Monday to attend the SCO meeting, marking the first time in 11 years that a Chinese premier visited the country. Qiang oversaw the signing of several cooperation agreements with Pakistan on trade and investment and virtually inaugurated a China-sponsored international airport in the port city of Gwadar.
PAKISTAN’S SECURITY WOES
Pakistan is wary of security troubles ahead of the key regional summit, with the South Asian country witnessing a surge in attacks recently. A suicide attack in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Oct. 6 killed two Chinese engineers and injured 10 others, raising questions over Islamabad’s ability to host the conference.
Pakistan army troops will be responsible for the security of the capital’s Red Zone, the location of the parliament and a diplomatic enclave and where most of the meetings will take place, according to the interior ministry.
A decades-long insurgency in Balochistan by separatist militant groups has led to frequent attacks against the government, army and Chinese interests in the region to press demands for a share in mineral-rich regional resources. China has frequently urged Pakistan to ensure security for its citizens.
Islamabad is also battling a surge in militancy in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province bordering Afghanistan where Pakistani Taliban or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants have increased attacks against security forces since November 2022 after a fragile truce between both sides broke down.
Pakistan blames the Afghan government for sheltering TTP militants who launch attacks on its soil, a charge Kabul has repeatedly denied.
