Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday urged Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members to enhance cooperation to tackle regional security challenges such as “terrorism,” cybercrime and drugs trafficking at a special meeting of the inter-governmental body in Bishkek.
Naqvi was addressing a special meeting of the Ministers of Interior and Public Security of the SCO in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek. The SCO has ten member states, including Pakistan, China, India, Iran and Russia. These members have a combined territory of about 36 million kilometers, a population of over 3.4 billion and represent about 25 percent of the global GDP.
The SCO seeks to promote border security, cooperation, counterterrorism and cooperation in other areas among member states. Pakistan, suffering from a surge in militant attacks on its western provinces bordering Afghanistan in recent years, regards the SCO as an important entity to ensure cooperation in “terrorism,” defense and economic sectors.
“SCO member states must consider intensified cooperation on intelligence sharing, joint threat assessments, and countering online extremism,” Naqvi said at the special meeting. “Pakistan is ready to support all its sovereigns.”
Naqvi said cyber “terrorism” includes online recruitment, cyber financing, and attacks on critical infrastructures, urging the body to strengthen cooperation on cyber intelligence and digital forensics.
He noted that intercepting drugs, online platforms and cryptocurrency transactions requires stronger regional coordination.
“Border security is critical to regional security,” he said. “We argue for greater SCO cooperation on document fraud detection, watch list coordination, and anti-human trafficking procedures.”
He said that countering terror financing should be a “central priority,” noting that Pakistan has formed its anti-money laundering frameworks.
“But disrupting these networks requires deeper regional cooperation,” he said.
The Pakistani interior minister said Islamabad supports the initiative proposed by Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan to establish new centers to enhance cooperation among SCO member states.
Confronted by surging militancy in its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, Pakistan blames India and Afghanistan for supporting militant attacks on its soil. Both countries deny the allegation and urged Islamabad to resolve its security challenges internally.