Recipe for Progress
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is an Organisation that protects political, economic, and security rights in Eurasia. This Organisation was introduced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China, which was signed later in June 2002 and got the power in September 2003. The countries that participated in this announcement included China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, while Pakistan and India joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as full members later, on 9 June 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Organisation, after having Pakistan and India join, became the world’s largest forum after the United Nations Organisation. Moreover, the total population of SCO countries reached 3.5 billion which approximately proclaim half of the human population and the combined GDP outshined up to 25 percent of that of the global GDP. Hence the SCO became the keystone of economics and politics of Eurasia and a game-changer for the global agenda.
Pakistan and SCO
Pakistan has been observing at the SCO since 2005, applied for a stable membership later in 2010 and became the full member of SCO in June 2017. Pakistan shares not only historical and cultural links but also the well-built economic and strategic complementarities with members of the Organisation. The SCO would prove to be helpful for Pakistan in the advancement of its wellbeing, peace, steadiness, and expansion plus would be its ultimate support for regional collaboration against terrorism and extremism.
It would be fair to say that Pakistan has been blessed with a god gifted geographical location as it naturally possesses interconnectivity and land routes for reciprocally profitable trade and other profitable activities for the countries belonging to the SCO. Pakistan enjoys specific benefits for having the geographical links to the Xinxiang province of China that we are going to discuss in this article later.
Solution for energy crisis
Pakistan has currently faced the considerable energy crisis as it is a country with the enormous shortfall of energy. It is expected that Pakistan, after joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, would be able to overcome energy scarcity. Pakistan has always proactively supported the energy club of the SCO therefore, the trans-afghan pipeline project or TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan) will proceed to be a landmark in getting Pakistan out of this energy crisis.
Nevertheless, trade flow of energy will be the top priority area. Pakistan can play a pivotal role in materialising the north-south trade and energy corridor with the promising opportunities of road-rail and pipelines link up to Gwadar. Recently concluded Pak-China MoU on establishing of Kashghar–Gwadar road-rail network is an encouraging development in the right direction for the advantage of all regional stakeholders.
Strengthened security
Russia-Pakistan relations are also expected to get firm through SCO which would lighten the security threats for Pakistan. SCO would let Pakistan reinforce its security apparatus and as SCO countries are defenseless to the terror and extremism from the neighbourhood. Some strategic proficiency gained by the SCO security workforce under the forum of RATS can be extended to Pakistani security agencies and Pakistan could enjoy the benefits from the spread equipped preparation to beef up security measures further.
The service planning capabilities of Pakistan would be boosted-up by participating in the joint military operations experienced by the armies of SCO countries. Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan somehow are used as a route for transiting probably the world’s largest drugs’ share. SCO’s joint anti-drug trafficking drills can help Pakistan not only through training of personnel (Anti Narcotics Task Force) but also intelligence sharing can help to expose the network of drugs barrens.
Economic opportunities
Pakistan’s joining the SCO would even unlock many panoramas of mutually favourable economic collaboration between all sides. Economic prospects intend at the most primitive probable manifestation of trade and energy corridor in the form of laying oil & gas pipelines (TAPI) and road-rail link up to Gwadar.
Indo-Pak relations
The other latent areas of collaboration are the “trade and commerce” and “science and technology.” The leading political essential is the enhancement of two-pronged relations with India. Pakistan, being a member of SCO, can use all the power to resolve clashes with India together with the core issue and dispute of Kashmir.
As we all know that there is a weird race between the two countries of blaming each other for so many issues, SCO would serve as an initiative for convincing both the “enemies” to resolve all their concerns and disputes harmoniously. India, being the member of SCO is going to get the benefit of its access to the Central-Asia by means of Lahore-Kabul route to catch-up with the Silk-Road project.
To be continued…
