The China led regional security bloc, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) secretary has recently said that India and Pakistan should resolve their differences in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack bilaterally, cautioning them against any spillover of the animosity in the group.
India and Pakistan also have to remain committed to fighting terrorism, the newly appointed SCO secretary-general, Vladimir Norov said.
“Otherwise, it would be impossible for the two States to participate in the SCO,” he added.
Norov said the SCO members were sincerely glad that the calls for restraint and a political and diplomatic solution to bilateral conflicts from all SCO member states were heard by the parties.
The whole world has heard clear signals from the parties not to escalate relations and their readiness to fully understand and follow the principles established within the organisation, he said.
India and Pakistan were admitted to the six-member group in 2017 after several years of negotiations.
While addressing his first press conference held at the SCO headquarters in Beijing on Wednesday; the other SCO members are Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Norov said: “As you know, before joining the SCO as full members, India and Pakistan committed themselves to strictly implement all the provisions of the legal framework that has been developed by the member states of the organisation.”
“One of such fundamental obligations is not to bring bilateral contradictions and disagreements to the SCO family, as the SCO is not engaged in the settlement of disputable bilateral issues, whether border, water or other topics in relations between individual member states,” he said.
“In addition, the most important condition for participation in multi-disciplinary cooperation within the SCO is the commitment to the unconditional and consistent struggle against terrorism, separatism, and extremism,” he said.
The SCO acquired a trans-regional character with the joining of India and Pakistan.
“I can say that with the accession of India and Pakistan, the SCO has acquired a trans-regional character, and in terms of its aggregate potential – the total population, territory, reserves of natural resources, GDP – it has become the largest organisation not only in the region but also in the world. Based on this, many experts note that the SCO should be among the main “supporting structures” of the future world order,” Norov said.
Norov said counter-terrorism and cooperation in the field of security were very important issues for SCO members. He said that for almost two decades, the organisation has made a significant contribution to security and development in a vast region is an indisputable fact.
