Samarkand huddle

Pakistan’s activities at the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation conference in Uzbekistan ended on Friday

Climate change, Afghanistan and PM Shehbaz Sharif’s one-on-one meetings with Presidents of Russia and China dominated Pakistan’s activities at the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan that came to an end on Friday. Whether it was deviating from the script to mention Afghanistan or talking in Tajik language, the trip highlighted PM Shehbaz’s international flare as he did not shy await from expressing his views and putting forth the country’s interests.

All of these happening are significant at different levels. The talk of Afghanistan and regional stability has always been a pinching nerve for Pakistan and the PM’s unexpected call for unfreezing Afghanistan’s financial assets was indeed a clever move to gain trust, considering actors at the table are not just Afghanistan’s neighbours but are also major global competitors. There is a strong push by Pakistan to help the Taliban gain international recognition for building bridges and mitigating the recent rise in cross-border terrorism activities.

The “successful” sideline meetings with Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping also indicate that Pakistan is astutely adopting a diverse foreign policy, as the country needs all the help it can get. But the highlight of the SCO meet was the PM’s heartfelt speech about the untold damages, both economic and humanitarian, that the catastrophic floods have brought in Pakistan. Being that such a disaster was a direct consequence of climate change, Shehbaz urged the heads of states to help build a wall against it through concerted and collective action. It could not have been said better that sustained support from other countries is a matter of justice, not just solidarity.

The meeting has brought much clarity of the agendas the incumbent government is ready to adopt amidst a difficult situation at home. It shows that Pakistani leaders must not hesitate putting national interests first, even on major international forums. After having taken one step back in the last few months, this is an important two steps forward.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2022.

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