The Bishkek moment
As Pakistan assumes the chairmanship of the SCO's Council of Heads of State for 2026-27, it has spelt out a viable agenda of cooperation across all apolitical realms of development. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif proposed a plan to prioritise IT, AI, energy development, poverty reduction, disaster management, health, culture and sports as avenues to pool synergies for a better tomorrow for the region's three billion people. If this prospective bloc of geo-economics in Central and Southwest Asia walks the talk, it could go a long way in harnessing a framework of understanding to better address bilateral and regional irritants. Thus, Islamabad demonstrated an awareness of ground realities as it raised the issues of terrorism and the weaponisation of water resources, cautioning that such friction only leads to further instability, chaos and degeneration.
The summit in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek saw heads of state and government rub shoulders as they marshalled for an aligned geopolitical entity free from bilateral encumbrances. In order to realise that dream, major stakeholders such as Russia, China and Iran must prevail upon India to mend its fences with Pakistan and work on a collective regional theme for the sake of tranquillity. Precedents for collaborating on such broad-based issues were set last year at the Tianjin summit in China, where Pakistan and India signed a joint communique to "look at terrorism from the same prism". This needs to be replicated by joining hands on the lawful sharing of Indus waters this year. A huddle between the heads of government of Pakistan and India is the way forward and will cement the credibility of forums like the SCO.
The 10-member SCO, along with observers and dialogue partners, must seize the opportunity to unite for peace. At a time when the Middle East is in turmoil and global supply lines are choked due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a semblance of diplomacy focused proactively on geo-economics is highly desirable. Pakistan has eloquently hinted at cooperating for the collective good by citing its past mediation role between the US and Iran, an abstract concept that must now be pushed into reality.