Prime Minister Shehbaz welcomes state dignitaries to SCO dinner in Pakistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday hosted a dinner and welcomed dignitaries from various member states on the first day of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

The SCO includes China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus – 16 other countries are affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners”.

Pakistan became a full member of the SCO at its 2017 summit in Kazakhstan, which was also attended by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who also recently expressed hope for revitalizing ties with India.

As the current chairman of the Council of Heads of Government (CHG), Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will chair the summit.

Just before the SCO dinner, footage from the venue showed Prime Minister Shehbaz greeting and shaking hands with dignitaries, including India’s Jaishankar, with whom he also had a brief conversation.

Jaishankar arrived in Pakistan today – the first such visit in almost a decade. State-run PTV showed pictures of Jaishankar being received by Foreign Ministry Director General for South Asia Ilyas Mehmood Nizami and other Pakistani officials after his plane landed at Nur Khan Air Base shortly before 3:30 p.m.

Jaishankar’s post on X about his arrival only mentioned the SCO summit.

Jaishankar will not talk about bilateral relations during the debate

The Indian minister said he would not discuss bilateral relations during his visit.

Jaishankar will “represent India at the meeting,” his foreign ministry said on Tuesday, adding that the country “remains actively engaged in the SCO format.”

“While it will not be a fleeting visit as previously thought, Jaishankar is unlikely to spend more than 24 hours in Pakistan before flying back to India.” Times of India reported.

PPP Chairman and former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in conversation with Geo Newssaid that according to the rules of the SCO, representatives of countries are not allowed to discuss bilateral issues during the summit.

“There are other forums where countries can discuss their bilateral issues,” Bilawal said.

Asked to comment on India’s evolving situation in Canada, Bilawal said the allegations against the Indian government were “quite serious” given that Pakistan was hosting the event and as per the country’s tradition of appreciating its guests to protect India, he would respect India and not make any detailed comment in this regard.

Heads of state and ministers arrive before the summit

From China, Premier Li Qiang will attend the summit. His Monday visit to Pakistan is the first by a Chinese prime minister in 11 years.

China, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will be represented by their prime ministers, while Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref will attend the summit, the Foreign Office said.

The meeting will also be attended by Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene of Mongolia, an observer state, and Turkmenistan’s Foreign Minister Raşit Meredov.

Around noon today, Kyrgyzstan’s Prime Minister and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Akylbek Japarov arrived at Nur Khan Air Base, where he was received by Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik. PTV News reported.

Shortly afterwards, Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko landed at Islamabad International Airport, where Justice Minister Azam Nazir Tarar greeted him.

Tajik Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda also landed at the same airport, where Trade Minister Jam Kamal Khan greeted him.

FM Meredov from Turkmenistan, who is a special guest at the SCO, was received by Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui at Islamabad Airport. PTV News reported.

Summit program

This emerges from a program for the summit published by the State Department, a copy of which is available from Dawn.comToday’s main event will be a Prime Minister’s welcome dinner.

Delegations will continue to arrive today.

Once all delegations have arrived, numerous activities are planned throughout the day tomorrow, with summit meetings expected in the morning.

According to the program, participants will arrive at the Jinnah Convention Center on Wednesday morning where they will be received by Prime Minister Shehbaz.

After group photos, Prime Minister Shehbaz will give his opening speech, followed by statements from other member states. One notable agenda is the “signing of documents” before the Prime Minister delivers closing remarks.

In the afternoon, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming will brief the media on the highlights of the summit. This was followed by “official lunches” by Prime Minister Shehbaz.

First-class security

With the arrival of top foreign officials, security agencies are determined to prevent disruption and have beefed up security in Islamabad.

The army has already been called in to provide security for the event as well as key government buildings and the Red Zone. Rangers are already deployed in the capital.

Many shops and routes in the federal capital and its twin city Rawalpindi have been closed due to security concerns.

The government has deployed more than 10,000 police and paramilitary forces to ensure the safety of the approximately 900 delegates who will travel to the event.

The delegates will stay at various locations in the capital within or around the ‘Red Zone’ as 14 locations have been set up in the capital to accommodate them.

A total of 124 vehicles will be used for the motorcade, including 84 as support vehicles for the heads of state and 40 for other delegates.

According to a dusk A four-member delegation from India, 76 delegates from Russia, 15 representatives from China, a two-member team from Iran and a four-member delegation from Kyrgyzstan reportedly reached Islamabad on Sunday.

Seven SCO delegates also arrived in the capital.

Additional input from AFP