The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit was held online on Tuesday July 04, 2023. Its focus was on terrorism in the region and the possible threats it poses.
Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who hosted and led the meeting, said that peace and stability in Afghanistan is linked to the security of the region and the world, and emphasized on assistance and cooperation with Afghanistan in the fight against possible threats from terrorism.
Modi added: “The situation in Afghanistan is directly bond with the security and stability of all members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Like other members of the organization, India has the same concerns and expectations regarding Afghanistan. We must make joint efforts for the prosperity of Afghans. It is very important that the territory of Afghanistan does not become a cause of resistance and the spread of extremism to the neighboring and regional countries.”
However, without naming any country, Modi accused some countries in the region of supporting terrorism and asked the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to take serious measures against those countries that directly or indirectly support terrorism and threaten the security of the region and the world.
He added: “Terrorism is a serious threat to the security of the region and the world. We must fight the phenomenon together. Some countries in the region provide safe havens to terrorists and use these terrorist groups as a tool to achieve their goals. The members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization should not be discouraged from criticizing such countries.”
While Pakistan has been continuously accused of supporting terrorism by the international community in the last two decades, and it is still being criticized.
Meanwhile, speaking to the summit Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif asked the Interim Government of Afghanistan to take serious steps to prevent the use of terrorism.
At the 23rd meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the member countries expressed their concerns about the spread of terrorism from Afghanistan at a time, when none of the members of the Interim Government were invited to the meeting.
On the other hand, analysts criticize the non-participation of Afghanistan as an observer member country and say that in every meeting in which the representative of the IE does not participate optimism for its tangible results would not be very strong.
The summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which was held under the auspices of India the participants emphasized the constructive interaction of the world with Afghanistan in addition to other important issues and criticized the lack of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan from the world.
