Pakistan PM Sharif calls on international community to "meaningfully engage" with Afghanistan

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 4 : Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday called on the international community to "meaningfully engage" with Afghanistan to take the next steps. He said that the international community finds itself at a standstill with Afghanistan.

While addressing the 23rd Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State virtually, Shehbaz Sharif said that the Taliban must take measures to ensure its soil is not used for terrorism. The summit of the SCO Council of Heads of State was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. China's President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders participated in the summit.

In his address via videoconferencing, Pakistan Prime Minister said, "The achievement of lasting peace and security in the region is both a common concern as well as a responsibility of all honourable SEO leaders. Stability in Afghanistan is critical for achieving this common objective. The international community currently finds itself in a standstill with Afghanistan."

"The cascade of unmet expectations has meant that critical support needed by Afghanistan to ward off a grave humanitarian crisis, prevent an economic meltdown and to combat terrorism has been withheld. This policy needs an urgent reset. The international community should meaningfully engage with the interim Afghan government to take the next steps," he added.

Shehbaz Sharif noted that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan will bring dividends to Afghans and unlock the true economic potential of the SCO region and contribute to global peace, security and progress. He stated that the SCO Afghanistan contact group has an important part to play in providing a platform for practical cooperation.

"Similarly, the interim Afghan government must also take concrete measures to ensure its soil is not used for terrorism by any entity. A peaceful and stable Afghanistan will not only bring economic dividends to the Afghan people but would also unlock the true economic potential of the SCO region as well as contribute to global peace security and progress. The SCO Afghanistan contact group has an important role to play in providing a platform for practical cooperation," Sharif said.

In his remarks, Shehbaz Sharif also spoke on climate-induced disaster and stressed that the international community must act immediately. He said that Pakistan has lived through the horrors of climate change during the floods that occurred last year. He noted that Pakistan is committed to working for a sustainable and nature-positive world.

"Climate-induced disaster is knocking on our doors being a global crisis that threatens Humanity's survival, climate change demands global solidarity and a global response. It's time to act and we must act now and immediately," Shehbaz Sharif said.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an intergovernmental organization founded in Shanghai on June 15, 2001.

With Iran being inducted into the SCO today, the body now comprises nine member states - China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The SCO has been an observer in the UN General Assembly since 2005.

India assumed the rotating chairmanship of the SCO at the Samarkand Summit of SCO on September 16 last year.

The theme of India's Chairmanship of SCO in 2023 is 'SECURE-SCO'.

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