File photo of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari
Stressing that the collective security of citizens is a joint responsibility, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday urged participants at a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit to resist weaponizing terrorism for diplomatic point-scoring.
The first Pakistani foreign minister to visit India in 12 years, Bhutto-Zardari told the participants of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Goa that he was speaking on terrorism not just as a Pakistani, but also as a son whose mother was assassinated by terrorists. “I feel the pain of this loss, empathize with victims across the world a way most can’t,” he said, stressing that Pakistan was committed to ridding the world of this menace.
“This requires not only a comprehensive approach but also a collective approach,” he proposed. “It demands we address the root causes as well as the threats posed by specific groups. It requires that we let this challenge unite us to fight it rather than divide us to become its victim. Our success requires us to isolate this issue from geo-political partisanship,” he said, adding “practical” solutions were necessary. “We must stop conflating non-state actors with state actors. Condemn all forms of terrorism including state sponsored terrorism,” he said, suggesting the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure should be strengthened to effectively address the growing threat.
At the outset of his statement, the foreign minister reiterated that Pakistan considered the SCO an important regional platform whose charter aligned with its vision of enhanced regional economic connectivity and win-win cooperation. “We believe the SCO could be a key platform for taking this vision of Eurasian connectivity to the next level,” he said, adding Pakistan’s location at the crossroads of South Asia and the Middle East made it an ideal trade conduit for the whole region. “Investing in our collective connectivity capacities is crucial to advancing our shared vision for an economically integrated region,” he continued, noting Pakistan would host the “Conference on Transport Connectivity for Regional Prosperity” in September 2023.
Praising the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he said it could boost regional connectivity, trade and investment. “CPEC does not only connect Pakistan to its neighbor China. CPEC offers all countries invested in the commonality of the future of this region to take the journey further and connect the dots towards full regional economic integration,” he added.
Stressing that the SCO served as a platform promoting mutual understanding, security and development through constructive and mutually beneficial cooperation, he said its relevance could be gauged from the increasing number of countries wishing to join it. “We congratulate brotherly Iran, which would soon become the newest member of the SCO family. We welcome the accession of Bahrain, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar and the United Arab Emirates as new Dialogue Partners. And look forward to welcoming Belarus as a full member in the near future,” he added.
Referring to the climate crisis, poverty and situation in Afghanistan as collective challenges that required collective action, he said these issues must be isolated from hyper-partisan geopolitics to overcome them. “Our excuse cannot be we were too divided to put up a fight,” he warned.
Noting that China had provided a blueprint for how to tackle poverty, he praised the Benazir Income Support Program for its role in poverty alleviation and women’s empowerment. “Chest thumping about economic progress rings hollow when the largest number of poor people on the planet dwell within our collective borders,” he said, adding that establishing a Special Working Group on Poverty Alleviation, as proposed by Pakistan, would be a step in that direction.
On climate change, the foreign minister said it could not be addressed without global unity. Recalling last year’s floods that left a third of the country under water, he said Pakistan was still rebuilding from the disaster and preparing for the inevitability of it recurring. “I am proud of Pakistan’s leadership through our chairmanship of G77 + China, which helped advocate for loss and damage to be included on the agenda of COP27,” he said, while admitting it was “too little, too late” and much more was still needed. “We must hold the developed world up to their commitment of providing $100 billion annually for climate finance,” he said, while describing as “encouraging” the SCO’s increasing focus on the critical issue. “The joint statement to be issued by the Council of Heads of States on fighting Climate Change rightly calls for deepening cooperation in the areas of environmental protection,” he said, adding Pakistan would propose establishing a joint working group in the SCO on climate change.
Discussing the situation in Afghanistan, Bhutto-Zardari said it presented challenges as well as opportunities. Reiterating calls for the global community to engage with the interim Afghanistan government, he said this could pressure authorities in the war-torn state to “adopt universally-accepted principles of political inclusivity, and respecting the rights of all Afghans, including girls’ right to education”. Similarly, he said, the global community could help build Kabul’s counter-terrorism capacity. “It is alarming that terrorist groups within Afghanistan are cooperating amongst themselves more than we are as the international community,” he said, noting Pakistan would inevitably the first country to suffer the consequences. “Pakistan calls on the interim Afghan authorities to uphold their commitments on not allowing the use of Afghan soil for terrorism,” he said, stressing a peaceful and stable Afghanistan was key to not only regional integration and economic cooperation but also global peace and stability.
In his address, the foreign minister said Pakistan remained committed to multilateralism and would continue to play a role at all international forums for forging friendly relations among nations and supporting the peaceful settlement of longstanding international disputes. He specifically praised China for its brokering of peace between Saudi Arabia and Iran. “Unilateral and illegal measures by states in violation of international law and Security Council resolutions run counter to the SCO objectives,” he said, adding that the future should be based not on conflict preservation but on conflict resolution.
“We must also resolutely resist the temptation to stoke prejudice and discrimination to derive our identity. It is imperative that willful provocations and incitement to hate, especially on religious grounds, are roundly condemned. It is our collective duty to fight against fascism and historical revisionism that is leading to violent ultra-nationalism anywhere in the world. We must ensure that racism and xenophobic ideologies, have no place in today’s world and fundamental human rights and freedoms are guaranteed to all,” he added.