Yasmeen Aftab Ali
The 19th summit meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) at Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (June 13/14) offered yet another opportunity to its ten full members to exchange views on issues of multilateral or bilateral interest. In his maiden address to the forum, Prime minister Imran Khan acknowledged and focused on the multipolar global order, the epicenters of economic power and the growth momentum that shifting eastwards. Khan made a strong case for investment opportunities in Pakistan, underlining its geographical location as a “vital connectivity” for the entire the region.
Although the SCO provides an excellent forum for its members to achieve better mutual understanding, yet improving upon not only diplomatic and trade relations still remains a major challenge for it. This is because the reality of global alliances and confrontations, the trickledown effect of these alliances upon regional alliances and trade that further trickles down to local policies is a harsh reality that restricts the utility of the SCO. Diverse and competing interests of some members also impose another restriction on the organization’s ability to function smoothly.
A case in point is the acrimonious Indo-Pak relationship. Even though PM Khan and Indian PM Narendra Modi barely managed a handshake much later, both chose to ignore each other while entering the official hall for the dinner hosted by President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbay Jeenbekov. Earlier, Modi had even refused to use Pakistani airspace on his way to Bishkek, and instead chose to fly over Oman and Iran to attend the SCO meet in the Kyrgyz capital.
Tensions between both India and Pakistan have been running high, the latest trigger being attack on an Indian security forces’ convoy in Pulwama in Indian-administered Kashmir on February 14. India blamed it on Jaishe Mohammad and by implication held Pakistan responsible for it.
Pakistan categorically denied the charge and pointed to the resentful conditions inside Kashmir. The Indian air strike on forests at Balakot on Februrary 26, downing by Pakistan of an Indian aircraft next day and the capture of its pilot took the tensions to new levels. It apparently helped Modi win elections with an unprecedented mandate.
Tied to these developments in the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to India. Stating Trump’s tough stance on Pakistan, he said that the Trump administration throws its weight behind New Delhi to “deal with” Islamabad and Beijing. This is in line with the US desire to curtail China’s rise in the global arena. Speaking at the 44th annual meeting of the US-India Business Council, Pompeo called for strengthening of cooperation with India in defence, energy and space, and defended the US vision of a “free and open” Indo-Pacific region — an idea to counter China in the region.’
The larger agendas and alliances in which some members of SCO are part of – irrespective of the efforts by an organization – cannot be ignored.
However, an interesting point of observation during the summit was the interaction between heads of state of nations whose interests seemingly converge in the ‘new evolving world order’.
In one such interaction, PM Khan had an informal meeting on the sidelines with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Khan’s interests in developing stronger ties with Russia were clearly evident, even in his interview with the Russian news outlet Sputnik.
“Previously, Pakistan was tied to the US, and, as we all know, India was tied to the Soviet Union. And no longer is that situation there. First, we hope that our tension with India decrease, so we do not have to buy arms because we want to spend money on human development. But, yes, we are looking for arms from Russia, and I know our military is already in touch with the Russian military,” Khan told the agency.
Another important, but not unexpected, informal meeting on the sideline was held between PM Khan and Chinese President Xi Jinping. A statement by PM Khan’s media cell said that “the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including CPEC, was discussed during the “extremely cordial meeting” between the two leaders…… and , the two sides discussed the regional situation and reaffirmed their “all-weather strategic cooperative partnership” including a commitment to CPEC”.
PM Khan also met with the Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov during the summit. A number of steps to improve relationships not only between the two governments but also through people-to-people contact were discussed.
Pepe Escobar, renowned journalist, while writing for Asia Times, shared an interesting observation. He wrote “Iranian President Rouhani was at the SCO summit in Bishkek as an observer. He did talk directly to Putin, Xi, Modi and Imran. He blasted Exceptionalism as “a serious risk to stability in the region and the world”. Russia and China support Tehran. India, as usual, is on the fence. Rouhani’s master touch was to offer preferential treatment for ALL companies and entrepreneurs from SCO nations in the Iranian market.”
The SCO summit essentially resounded with a reaffirmation of converging interests of the member states, without an indication of a in the Indo-Pakistan relations. It proved that the level of effectiveness of the SCO may have been undermined considerably by political conflicts, whether diplomatic or armed, and the underlying currents that make up regional alliances and animosities.
That is why Russia, China and the Central Asian states are determined not to allow bilateral conflicts affect SCO’s function as a regional security cooperation organization. They don’t want the SCO to be seen as an “anti-body”; instead they are eager to project the organization as a collaborative forum.
The fact remains that the SCO members constitute collectively, a huge market, a large share of the pie from world’s mineral resources and also the potential to develop foreign markets with better trade agreements for mutual benefits. SCO can therefore play a proactive role in helping nations come together to successfully implement joint economic plans for regional development and prosperity.
The writer is a lawyer, academic and political analyst. She has authored a book titled ‘A Comparative Analysis of Media & Media Laws in Pakistan.’ She can be contacted at: yasmeenali62@gmail.com and tweets at @yasmeen_9
