Pakistan has imposed a strict security crackdown in Islamabad due to various militant attacks and is imposing a major lock down. This is so as senor officials from various states are converging for the SHanghai cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting. A three-day public holiday started on Monday in Islamabad and the neighbouring military garrison city of Rawalpindi where movement restrictions such road closures have affected normal life. Emergency response staff itself, like ambulance and doctors, are also reported to be losing directions in the city.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a round of talks with the attending leaders on Tuesday with the summit proper set for Wednesday. Here currently, the SCO, which was established in 2001 in order counter the western formed alliances that include China and Russia, it other members include India, Iran, and Pakistan. Security cooperation and economic collaboration will be the two key areas of this speech.
Of late, militant attacks have taken place in the north western and south western regions of Pakistan, which are worrying. Security forces blame outlawed Pakistani Taliban operating from Afghanistan for the acts of terrorism. But Afghanistan’s Taliban government categorically refutes charges that it permits attacks from its territory. For instance, a suicide attack in Karachi recently left two Chinese engineers dead and was blamed for by a separatist group.
Due to continued threat of more attacks no other journalists apart from those from state media organizations are allowed to attend the meetings. Participants include, China’s Premier Li Qiang, Russia’s Prime Minister Mishustin, India’s external affairs minister S Jaishankar and other leaders from the republics. The breakdown in relations means no face-to-face talks are planned with Pakistani leaders even though Jaishankar’s trip is the first by an Indian official to Pakistan in more than a decade.
