Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday that it would be a “big mistake to ignore Afghanistan this time around”, highlighting that peace in both countries was interlinked.
He expressed the views as he addressed the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) Council of Heads of State (CHS) meeting in Samarkand on Friday.
Shehbaz had arrived in the historic city of Samarkand on a two-day visit on Thursday. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif are among the officials part of the Pakistani delegation.
On the second day of his visit, the prime minister attended the close-format CHS meeting at the Congress Centre along where participants were welcomed by Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were also in attendance.
At the outset of his address, the premier deviated from the text of his speech as he talked about Afghanistan. “As you know Pakistan is a neighbouring country of Afghanistan, and peace in Afghanistan will ensure peace in Pakistan,” he said.
“In other words, what is good for Afghanistan, is good for Pakistan and vice versa.”
He went on to say that the world would have to work together to support all “good initiatives” in Afghanistan. “Therefore, it will be a big mistake if we ignore Afghanistan this time around.”
It is Pakistan’s considered opinion that strengthening Afghanistan in the security and counterterrorism domain should run parallel to the SCO’s socio-economic support to the Afghan people, he said.
PM Shehbaz said the international community must support efforts to build a sustainable Afghan economy. “Unfreezing Afghanistan’s financial assets remains a crucial need in this regard.”
For their part, Afghan authorities would do well to build a future based on inclusiveness and respect for human rights for all citizens, especially women and minorities, including effective steps against terrorism, he said.
Highlighting Pakistan’s fight against terrorism, he urged the SCO states to join hands and “fight this menace of extremism, separatism and terrorism and wipe it from the face of this earth”.
