Pakistan wishes to work with SCO in promoting regional harmony

Advisor to Pakistani Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, told a seminar in Islamabad on Thursday that the country wishes to work with Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in promoting regional harmony by acquiring its full membership.

Aziz will represent the country in SCO summit in Bishkek next month, the Foreign Ministry said Sunday.

Pakistan enjoys the observer status in the SCO and is seeking a full membership status along with Afghanistan, India, Iran and Mongolia. "The SCO's policies and programs were in consonance with Pakistan's long term objectives of promoting peace and stability in the region, containing and eradicating the menace of terrorism from the region and working with members to build stronger and more productive relationship in the future,"he said at the two- day international conference on"SCO's Role in Regional Stability: Prospects for Its Expansion".

Aziz said that political observers were looking towards the SCO for its role in Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrawal when there would be a political and security vacuum in that country.

He said Pakistan had already declared its policy of"No interference, and no favorites"in Afghanistan in the post-2014 period. "If all regional countries followed the same policy and resisted the temptation to fill the power vacuum, then Afghanistan would have an historic opportunity to evolve an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process,"he asserted. "On its potential role in the future, SCO could intensify efforts to combat terrorism, religious extremism, separatism, organized crime, arms and drugs trafficking,"the Pakistani advisor said.