- Friday, February 28, 2025
While Xi touched upon issues such as regional peace, common security and economic recovery, Sharif spoke on issues such as terrorism and religious minorities.
By: Shubham Ghosh
WHILE Chinese president Xi Jinping on Tuesday (4) called on the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to safeguard regional peace and ensure common security besides focusing on pragmatic cooperation to speed up economic recovery, Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif touched upon the threat of terrorism saying the “hydra-headed monster” of terrorism and extremism, whether committed by “individuals, groups or at state level”, must be fought with full vigour and conviction.
SCO summit: Modi takes veiled dig at Pakistan over terror in presence of PM Sharif
Sharif also warned against using the menace as a cudgel for diplomatic point scoring.
“Terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including state terrorism, must be condemned in clear and unambiguous terms. There can be no justification for the killing of innocent people regardless of the cause or pretext,” he said.
The duo was addressing the 23rd meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State presided over by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in a virtual format.
Both China and Pakistan confirmed participation of their top leaders in the summit last week.
Xi took a veiled dig at the US during his speech and called for opposing hegemony and power politics and making the system of global governance fairer and more equitable.
He also made a pitch for the SCO members to synergise high-quality cooperation under his pet multi-billion dollar project the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with various countries’ development strategies and regional cooperation initiatives.
The BRI is a multi-billion-dollar initiative launched by Xi when he first came to power in 2013 and aims to link Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes.
In his speech, Sharif also spoke about religious minorities, saying the practice of demonising the community in the “pursuit of domestic political agendas” should be stopped, without naming any country.
He also noted that while the sacrifices made by Pakistan in fighting the scourge of terrorism were without a parallel, the phenomenon continued to plague the region and was a “serious obstacle” to peace and stability.
Sharif also tried to rake up the Kashmir issue and highlighted the importance of UN resolutions to address the long overdue disputes. He also talked about the three evils of terrorism, extremism and separatism and urged the SCO countries to take concerted and immediate actions, both in their national and collective capacity, to combat them. He also highlighted the importance of connectivity by saying that it had become a defining feature in the modern global economy.
He also talked about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which he said could be a “game changer” for connectivity and prosperity in the region. “Pakistan’s location serves as a natural bridge, connecting Europe and Central Asia with China, South Asia and the Middle East,” he said, adding that special economic zones under the CPEC could also serve as convenient conduits for promoting regional trade.
The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s Balochistan with China’s Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of the BRI. India has protested to China over the CPEC as it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Sharif also said that “climate-induced disaster is knocking at our door” and demanded global solidarity and response to tackle it.
Russian president Vladimir Putin was also present at the virtual meeting and he said Moscow will continue to oppose western sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine last year.
The Russian leader was speaking in his first international meeting since the recent mutiny in his country.
Putin supported trading accords reached between members of the SCO in local currencies, which is seen as an effort to blunt sanctions.
In a message of defiance to the west, Putin said Russia counters all the external sanctions, pressure and provocations and continues to develop as never before, the BBC reported.
(With PTI inputs)
