DG anti-narcotics force to attend regional moot in Delhi

Major-General Aneequr Rehman Malik will lead Pakistani delegation at the meeting on April 13

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan's Director General Anti-Narcotics Force is set to attend a meeting of heads of anti-narcotics agencies of all Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states in New Delhi this week.

Major-General Aneequr Rehman Malik will lead the Pakistani delegation at the meeting on April 13 in New Delhi. The meeting would be chaired by the DG Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of India.

According to sources, the Indian High Commission in Islamabad issued visas to the five-member delegation including the DG anti-narcotics force. India is currently the president of SCO and is hosting a series of meetings.

Pakistan attended all SCO meetings except one expert-level sitting where India withdrew the invitation at the last minute raising objection over the Pakistani delegation for using an “incorrect map”.

Otherwise, Pakistan attended all meetings but most of them through a video link. This week's meeting of heads of anti-narcotics agencies in New Delhi marks a rare occasion where Pakistan will be attending in person.

Read more: India denies Pakistan entry at SCO meeting

India has already extended invitations to the defence and foreign ministers of Pakistan for the meetings of SCO. The defence ministers' meeting is to take place in New Delhi later this month while the council of foreign ministers is due to meet in May in Goa.

Pakistan has not yet taken a final decision on whether to attend those meetings in person or via video link. It is also not clear the level of participation.

However, one thing is clear Pakistan will not completely stay out of the SCO meetings, according to sources. “We accord high importance to the SCO. This is an important regional forum. Therefore, there is no question of Pakistan not attending the meetings,” said a foreign office source. However, the only question that remains to be decided is whether Pakistan attends the meetings of defence and foreign ministers in person or through video link.

But the fact that Pakistan is sending a two-star general to attend the anti-narcotics meetings in New Delhi suggests that the government may be testing the waters ahead of crucial ministerial meetings.

There is going to be an SCO summit too this year but Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s participation depends on the internal political situation and whether defence and foreign ministers attend the meetings.

SCO comprises Pakistan, India, China, Russia and key central Asian states. It is emerging as a major regional forum given the presence of heavyweights such as Russia and China.

The Saudi government recently approved the move to become a dialogue partner of SCO, something that would eventually lead to its full membership.