Ajit Karn
Islamabad: The Express Tribune reported that Pakistan proclaimed its decision to skip the meeting of Chief Justices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on March 10-12 in New Delhi on Thursday.
“As an active member of the SCO, Pakistan participates routinely in all SCO activities and contributes constructively to their outcomes,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a statement.
Pakistan is the only nation that will not attend India’s SCO Chief Justices meeting. All other members, including new member Iran, will be present in person at the meeting.
“Due to unavoidable obligations on the specified meeting dates, the Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan will be unable to attend the SCO meeting of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Courts, which is scheduled for March 10-12, 2023. He has therefore conveyed his regrets to his Indian counterpart, who is currently serving as the meeting’s chair/host “the new statement.
According to The Express Tribune, India extended an invitation to the Pakistani chief justice, but Islamabad made a last-minute decision regarding the country’s highest judge.
In addition to China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, the SCO also includes India.
As the regional forum’s president, India will host a number of events, including a gathering of the chief justices of the member states.
The Foreign Office statement cited the chief justice’s unavoidable obligations, but observers believe the current state of relations between Pakistan and India played a role in Islamabad’s decision, according to The Express Tribune.
India has also invited Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to this year’s May SCO foreign ministers meeting in Goa.
Pakistan has not yet determined if its foreign minister will attend.
As previously stated, participation in the impending SCO Council of Foreign Ministers is under contemplation, and once a decision is made, it will be shared with everyone, she told reporters at the weekly news briefing.
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This year, India will also host the SCO summit meeting. Uncertain is whether Pakistan will send its foreign minister in May or whether the prime minister will join the SCO leaders in India later.
Concerning issues of cross-border terrorism from Pakistan, relations between the two countries have been tenuous for many years, while Islamabad has demanded the restoration of Article 370 for the former Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir prior to any discussions.
