- Defense Minister reaches China to attend SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting
- SCO meeting is set to deliberate on regional and global security, counter-terrorism cooperation, and military ties
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday clarified that no meeting is scheduled between Defense Minister Khawaja Asif and his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh during Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ Meeting.
The Foreign Office, in a statement issued in “response to speculations and rumor,” confirmed that the Defense Czar reached Qingdao, China to participate in the SCO meeting, which began on Wednesday.
The SCO meeting is set to deliberate on regional and global security, counter-terrorism cooperation, and military ties.
On the other hand, Turkish media reports suggested the possibility of the first face-to-face meeting between the defense ministers of two South Asian countries since the recent military standoff between Islamabad and New Delhi.
The Turkish media stated that Asif will lead the Pakistani delegation at the two-day SCO meeting. Whereas, the Indian defense minister will also attend the forum with a high-level delegation. It further reported that Singh is scheduled to hold meetings with the defense ministers of China, Russia, and other nations.
Earlier, National Security Advisor (NSA) Lt Gen Asim Malik attended the 20th meeting of the secretaries of the Security Council of SCO Member States on Tuesday in Beijing, China.
In addition to interacting with Chinese leadership, during the visit, the NSA delivered an important speech reiterating Pakistan’s stance on the global and regional situation and contributions to peace and security, besides meetings with key leadership of SCO countries to enhance bilateral and security cooperation.
As part of his engagements, the NSA emphasizedPakistan’s desire for a stable and peaceful neighborhood and its role as a net regional stabiliser.
The military confrontation between Pakistan and India—which included cross-border strikes by both the nuclear-armed nations—came weeks after 26 tourists were killed in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) Pahalgam and India falsely blamed Pakistan for the attack in April.
After the incident, India killed several innocent civilians in unprovoked attacks on Pakistan for three days before the Pakistan Armed Forces retaliated in defense with the successful Operation Bunyanum Marsoos.
