By Our Diplomatic
Correspondent
ISLAMABAD: National Security Advisor, Dr. Moeed W. Yusuf will not interact with his Indian counterpart on the sideline of SCO meet, an official in the security advisory said on Sunday.
Dr. Moeedf has left to Dushanbe on Sunday to participate in the 16th meeting of the Secretaries of the Security Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states being held on 22-23 June 2021.
During the visit, the National Security Advisor (NSA) will participate in the joint session of the National Security Advisors of the member states and also sign the Protocol of the Sixteenth Meeting of the Security Council Secretaries, an official at the National Security Division told media.
The office of the NSA has confirmed that Dr. Yusuf will not meet his Indian counterpart, who will also be attending the SCO summit.
Last year, the meeting was held virtually in which India had walked out on Dr. Yusuf’s refusal to remove Pakistan’s political map from his background. During the visit, Dr. Yusuf may also meet with his counterparts from Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and China to discuss matters of mutual interest.
It may be remembered that Prime Minister Imran Khan has already reiterated that Pakistan’s stance that there will be no dialogue with India till it revisits its illegal and unilateral action of August 5. There is speculation that the Afghan NSA, Hamdullah Mohib will also be in Dushanbe as Afghanistan is an Observer of SCO, the official said.
“Mohib who has recently made multiple baseless accusations against Pakistan. Pakistan has responded formally, accusing him of undermining progress towards peace in Afghanistan. Pakistan has reportedly stopped engaging with him,” he told.
It is therefore not surprising that no meeting is expected between the Pakistani and Afghan NSAs in Dushanbe either, the official underlined. The upcoming SCO meeting is especially important as Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to visit Dushanbe for the SCO Heads of State Council meeting later this year.
President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon already visited Pakistan on 2-3 June 2021 and met with President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan. It may be mentioned here that established on 15 June 2001, this year was also the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the SCO. China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, the republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan are the founding members of the organization. Pakistan joined SCO in 2017.
