Pakistan’s Bilawal Bhutto indirectly rakes up Kashmir at SCO foreign ministers’ meet

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto indirectly raked up the Kashmir issue at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, in an apparent violation of decorum of the multilateral nature of the event. The SCO foreign ministers' meet is being held in India's coastal state of Goa.

"Unilateral and illegal measures by states in violation of international law and Security Council resolutions run counter to the SCO objectives," Bhutto said.

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The minister also appeared to push back India's long-held stance against Pakistani state's backing of terrorist groups.

Responding to India's Foreign Minister Dr S Jaishankar's remarks, Bhutto said, "Let's not get caught up in weaponising terrorism for diplomatic point scoring."

Isolate terrorism from geopolitical partisanship: Bilawal Bhutto

Without addressingthe cross-border terror sponsored from within Pakistan inside India's Jammu and Kashmir, Bhutto said that Pakistan is "firmly committed to be part of regional and global efforts for eradicating this [terror] menace."

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"This requires not only a comprehensive approach but also a collective approach. 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 added.

Stop conflating non-state actors with state actors: Bilawal Bhutto

Pakistan in the past has unsuccessfully reasoned that part of the reason it has struggled to control the terror menace is because of the "non-state actors",a diplomatic euphemism Islamabad has put into vogue while referring to the terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Haqqani Network.

Bhutto said that the SCO grouping must stop conflating non-state actors with state actors.

"Practical, pragmatic solutions exist for us to put an end to this chapter once and for all. We must stop conflating non-state actors with state actors. Condemn all forms of terrorism including state sponsored terrorism. Given that many SCO members confront the menace of terrorism, often from the same terrorist groups, the SCO RATS [Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure] needs to be further strengthened to effectively address the growing threats to peace and security in the SCO space," Bhutto said.

Ahead of ShanghaiCooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in New Delhi on July 3-4, India is currently hosting a two-day SCO Foreign Ministers' meet in the coastal state of Goa.

The Foreign Ministers' meet has focused on counter-terrorism, multilateral connectivity and stability in Afghanistan after Taliban's takeover.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic, international security and defence organisation. It is the world's largest regional organisation in terms of geographical expansiveness and population, covering approximately 60 per cent of the area of Eurasia and40 per cent of the world population.

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