At SCO, Pakistan calls for unconditional, urgent ceasefire in Gaza

At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) taking place in Astana, Kazakhstan, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar reiterated Pakistan’s firm call for an unconditional and urgent ceasefire in Gaza.

FM Dar, addressing the SCO forum consisting of 9 member states and four observers Eurasia, demanded the unhindered provision of humanitarian assistance for Gazans. He also emphasised the need to realise the two-state solution for durable peace and stability.

He strongly condemned the barbaric Israeli onslaught in Gaza, which had resulted in the killings of over 35,000 innocent civilians, mostly women and children.

The foreign minister reiterated Islamabad’s firm adherence to the SCO Charter and the “Shanghai Spirit” standing for mutual trust and respect for shared prosperity.

He warned against bloc-based or confrontational geopolitics and advocated for a multipolar world firmly grounded in multilateralism.

He explained Pakistan’s priorities as the current Chair of SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG), which included promoting connectivity, transport links, youth empowerment, poverty alleviation, and enhanced practical cooperation among SCO member states.

The deputy prime minister called for upholding international law and the UN Charter, emphasising the people’s right to self-determination and peaceful settlement of longstanding disputes in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

He stressed the need to combat the menace of terrorism through collective and cooperative approaches including by addressing its root causes. He urged the rejection of myopic and self-serving interests to use the mantra of terrorism for political gains.

On the Afghanistan situation, he called on the international community to meaningfully engage with the Interim Afghan Government (IAG) for the genuine economic and development needs of Afghanistan. He also urged the IAG to ensure that Afghan soil was not used for terrorism against any country.

The deputy prime minister said that Pakistan’s geostrategic location offered an ideal trade and transit hub for the SCO region, and underlined the significance of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) for regional connectivity and economic integration.

Highlighting climate change, the deputy prime minister called for collective efforts to address the challenge as any failure in this regard would put global security at stake.

He said despite contributing less than 1% of the global emissions, Pakistan suffered huge economic and life losses consequent to the climate change-induced floods which necessitated capacity building of developing countries to overcome the issue.

Dar told the gathering that Pakistan Pakistan fully supported the reform process in the SCO which should also feature an enhanced motoring and implementation capacity in the security and economic field.