The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MEA) said on Monday whether Pakistan will join India’s initiatives at the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is up to them and backed this with the provision of the SCO Charter. “As for whether Pakistan will join (our) initiatives, it is up to them. The SCO charter has a provision that a country cannot stop cooperation in areas and allows member countries who are interested to carry it out with the exclusion of a country that opposes it, ”said MEA Secretary Vikas Swarup.
Swarup said that India regards the SCO as an important regional organization to promote cooperation in the areas of peace, security, trade, economy and culture. “We are committed to deepening our cooperation with SCO by playing a proactive, positive and constructive role,” said the MEA secretary.
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Hours earlier, India indirectly cornered Pakistan for using terrorism as an instrument of state policy and called for collective efforts to combat the threat during a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, who chaired the virtual council meeting, launched the attack without naming Pakistan, saying: “India condemns terrorism in all its manifestations. We remain concerned about the threats arising from ungoverned spaces and we are particularly concerned about states that take advantage of terrorism as an instrument of state policy ”.
Taking note of Pakistan’s position, Naidu said: “This approach is totally against the spirit and ideas and statutes of the SCO. Removing this threat will help us all to realize our shared potential and create the conditions for stable and secure economic growth and sustainable development. “
Naidu also criticized Pakistan for trying to use the SCO to raise bilateral issues, saying this went against the group’s charter, which safeguards the sovereignty and territorial integrity of member states.
Read also | SCO meeting: India launches thinly veiled attack on Pakistan over terrorism
Pakistan has repeatedly tried to raise bilateral issues such as the Kashmir issue in multilateral forums and India withdrew from a virtual meeting of SCO national security advisers in September after the Pakistani representative projected a map that incorrectly depicted the borders of the countries. two countries.
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