ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit today, Thursday, in Kazakhstan and will hold a meeting with the President of the Central Asian state, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, according to a statement released by his office in Islamabad.
Sharif arrived in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, to attend the SCO meetings along with leaders and diplomats from China, India, Turkiye, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and other countries to review economic and security cooperation.
His visit comes at a time when Pakistan seeks to promote itself as a trade and transit hub connecting the landlocked Central Asian Republics to the rest of the world via the Arabian Sea.
Troubled by a macroeconomic crisis, Islamabad has increasingly sought to enhance trade with regional countries in recent years.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will participate in the Council of Heads of State meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,” the PM Office announced while sharing details of Sharif’s engagements on Thursday. “At the meeting, the Prime Minister will present Pakistan’s perspective on important regional and global issues.”
“The Prime Minister will also participate in the SCO Plus Summit and will deliver a national statement,” it added.
The “SCO Plus” meeting refers to a format that includes not only the SCO member states but also observer nations and other invited guests.
The expanded format aims to broaden the dialogue and cooperation beyond the core member countries, engaging a wider range of nations in discussions on security, economic and cultural issues.
The prime minister also met Russian President Vladimir Putin after his arrival in Astana to discuss enhanced bilateral trade and diplomatic relations and assure him that the bilateral relations between the two states would not be impacted by geopolitical contingencies or relations with other countries.
The PM Office also said Sharif will meet the Kazakhstan president during the day.
Pakistan PM to attend SCO summits in Astana, meet Kazakhstan president today
https://arab.news/vnbnm
Pakistan PM to attend SCO summits in Astana, meet Kazakhstan president today
- Shehbaz Sharif will present Pakistan’s perspective on global and regional issues at the Council of Heads of State
- He will also participate in the SCO Plus Summit that will include observer nations and other invited guests
Cross-border clash breaks out between Pakistan and Afghanistan amid rising tensions
- Border residents say exchange of fire in the Chaman border sector lasted nearly two hours
- Both governments issue competing statements blaming the other for initiating the violence
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan witnessed yet another border clash, according to officials in both countries who spoke in the early hours of Saturday, with each side accusing the other of launching “unprovoked” attacks.
Fighting erupted in Pakistan’s southwestern Chaman border sector, with an AFP report saying that residents on the Afghan side of the frontier reported the exchange of fire began at around 10:30 p.m. (1800 GMT) and continued for roughly two hours.
The incident underscored how tensions remain high between the neighbors, who have seen deadly clashes in recent months despite several rounds of negotiations mediated by Qatar and Türkiye that resulted in a tenuous truce in October.
“There has been unprovoked firing by Afghan Taliban elements in the Chaman Sector which is a reckless act that undermines border stability and regional peace,” said a Pakistani security official on condition of anonymity.
“Pakistani troops responded with precision, reinforcing that any violation of our territorial integrity will be met with immediate and decisive action,” he continued.
The official described Pakistan’s response as “proportionate and calibrated” that showed “professionalism even in the face of aggression.”
“The Chaman Sector exchange once again highlights the need for Kabul to rein in undisciplined border elements whose actions are destabilizing Afghanistan’s own international standing,” he added.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have grown increasingly bitter since the Taliban seized power in Kabul following the withdrawal of international forces in August 2021.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban administration of sheltering anti-Pakistan militant groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which have carried out deadly attacks in its western provinces bordering Afghanistan, targeting civilians and security forces.
The Taliban deny the charge, saying Pakistan’s internal security challenges are its own responsibility.
The Pakistani security official said his country remained “committed to peaceful coexistence, but peace cannot be one-sided.”
“Attempts to pressure Pakistan through kinetic adventurism have repeatedly failed and will continue to fail,” he said. “The Chaman response has reaffirmed that message unmistakably.”
He added that Pakistan’s security forces were fully vigilant and that responsibility for any escalation “would solely rest with those who initiated unprovoked fire.”
Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister, also commented on the clashes in a social media post, saying the Afghan Taliban had “resorted to unprovoked firing along the border.”
“An immediate, befitting and intense response has been given by our armed forces,” he wrote.
https://x.com/mosharrafzaidi/status/1997025600775786654?s=46&t=JVxikSd5wyl9Y96OwifS5A
Afghan authorities, however, blamed Pakistan for the hostilities.
“Unfortunately, tonight, the Pakistani side started attacking Afghanistan in Kandahar, Spin Boldak district, and the forces of the Islamic Emirate were forced to respond,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on X.
https://x.com/zabehulah_m33/status/1997018198508818891?s=48&t=x28vcP-XUuQ0CWAu-biScA
Border clashes that began in October have killed dozens of people on both sides.
The latest incident comes amid reports of back-channel discussions between the two governments, although neither has publicly acknowledged such talks.
