ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has urged member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to avoid using terrorism as a diplomatic tool.
Addressing the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting, the foreign minister called for enhanced collaboration among SCO countries to combat the scourge of terrorism. He called for coordinated efforts to address the root causes of the problem.
Foreign Office (FO), in a statement released on Friday, quoted FM as saying that “the collective security of our people is our mutual responsibility. Please avoid using terrorism as a diplomatic tool for score-settling.”
He said, “Our common problems should be solved by cooperative action rather than a divided response. If we want to succeed, we must keep these issues separate from geopolitics, which is highly political. We cannot use the justification that we were too divided to fight!”
Bilawal stated in regards to Afghanistan that “a stable and peaceful Afghanistan is vital to regional integration, economic collaboration and global peace and stability.”
Earlier, S Jaishankar, Indian Minister of External Affairs, spoke at the SCO meeting, where he talked about cross-border terrorism.
Jaishankar stated, “While the world was fighting the Covid-19 outbreak, the menace of terrorism continues unabated,” according to the Hindustan Times. “It would damage our security interests to divert our attention away from this threat.”
“In all its forms and expressions, including cross-border terrorism, we strongly believe there can be no excuse for terrorism,” Jaishankar remarked.
The subject of terrorism and Islamabad’s commitment to Afghanistan were both raised in Bilawal’s speech.
The FO quoted Bilawal as saying in a Twitter thread, “Unilateral and unlawful steps by states in violation of UN Security Council resolutions and international law run counter to achieving the SCO goals”.
“When great powers play peacemaker’s role, we can unlock the potential of peace while paving the way for greater cooperation, regional integration, and economic opportunities for our peoples,” he continued.
