SCO member states including India to participate in anti-terror drills in Pakistan

India will be participating in joint anti-terror drills to be held in Pakistan under the umbrella of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), reported Indian media.

The drills will be held in Pabbi, home of Pakistan's counter-terror school, and the decision to hold the exercises was announced during the 36th meeting of the Council of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on March 18.

Apart from India, China, Russia and other SCO states will be sending their contingents to take part in the drills. 

“Decisions have been made to improve cooperation between the competent authorities of the SCO member states in identifying and suppressing channels that finance terrorist activities," China's state-run Xinhua news agency had reported earlier while quoting an SCO statement. 

Since becoming an SCO member in 2017, Pakistan has been actively participating at all levels in various moots including foreign affairs, defence, national security, economy and trade, science and technology, youth and women empowerment, tourism and media.

The organisation was created to resolve issues related to border management and security but later its scope was widened. At present, SCO is the biggest regional organisation in terms of its size and population. Its members constitute about 45% of the world population, 23% of land mass and 25% of gross domestic product (GDP) of the entire world. The total worth of GDP is $14.5 trillion.