Bishkek Declaration of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) covers a wide spectrum of issues from Eurasian connectivity to its security. One issue that carries particular strategic importance for Pakistan and the wider region is terrorism being spreading from Afghanistan and this was also highlighted by the SCO in this latest Summit.
Afghanistan sits at the geographical intersection of South Asia, Central Asia and the broader Eurasian space. Instability in Afghanistan has direct consequences for Pakistan, Central Asian states, Iran, China and Russia. Consequently, the SCO’s emphasis on Afghanistan reflects the organization’s broader understanding that there can be no sustainable Eurasian security architecture without addressing the Afghan question.
The Bishkek Declaration indicates that inclusive (having representation of all ethnic groups and genders) neutral, peaceful, free from terrorism, war and drugs Afghanistan is the foremost demand for a secure Eurasia. The SCO strongly has demanded Afghan Taliban to introduce an inclusive Afghan government with broad participation of representatives of all ethno-political groups –the same that was promised by Taliban in Doha Peace Accord. This time, the language used by SCO Declaration deserves serious attention.
Since becoming in power in 2021, Afghan Taliban are not listening the world voices that Afghanistan has remained a security concerns for global peace as Kabul is avoiding to take action against terrorism and narcotics trafficking it is exporting to SCO countries. The SCO declaration therefore places the Afghan issue within a regional rather than exclusively Western or bilateral framework.
The most important concern for Pakistan is terrorism emanating from Afghan territory. The Bishkek Declaration places counterterrorism among the SCO’s central priorities and strongly condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. It rejects double standards in counterterrorism and calls for international action against terrorism, including cross-border terrorism and the movement of terrorists. This has direct relevance to Afghanistan.
The declaration’s emphasis on an Afghanistan free from terrorism, war and drugs cannot be separated from the SCO’s wider security agenda. For Pakistan, this regional approach is particularly important. Islamabad has consistently maintained that peace in Afghanistan is directly linked with Pakistan’s own security. Any Afghan policy that ignores terrorism, criminal networks and cross-border threats risks treating the symptoms while leaving the underlying regional security problem unresolved.
The SCO’s position therefore provides an important platform for Pakistan to argue that Afghanistan’s territory must not be allowed to become a source of terrorism against neighbouring states.
At the same time, the declaration’s call for an inclusive Afghan government raises a difficult political question.
The SCO recognizes that lasting peace requires broad participation of Afghanistan’s ethno-political groups. This is a significant statement because the issue of political inclusivity remains one of the central challenges surrounding Afghanistan’s future.
An inclusive political structure is not merely a matter of diplomatic terminology. Afghanistan’s history demonstrates that exclusion, political marginalization and the concentration of power can had been generating instability that eventually spills across borders.
For Pakistan, SCO’s Declaration presents both an opportunity and a challenge. Islamabad has a direct interest in a stable government in Kabul, but it also has to balance its security concerns with the principle of Afghan sovereignty and the need for an Afghan-owned political process.
The declaration’s emphasis on drugs is equally important.
The SCO calls for stronger cooperation against narcotics trafficking, psychotropic substances and precursors and has adopted programmes extending to 2030 for combating drug addiction and synthetic drugs.
Afghanistan’s security problem cannot be viewed only through the lens of armed militancy. Narcotics trafficking, smuggling, organized crime, terrorism and illicit financial networks reinforce one another and create a broader transnational security challenge. This is precisely why the SCO’s decision to strengthen specialized security institutions matters. The proposed Universal Center for Countering Security Challenges and Threats, along with mechanisms dealing with transnational organized crime and drugs, could eventually provide a more coordinated regional response.
The Bishkek Declaration also offers another way of looking at Afghanistan: not simply as a security problem, but as a potential component of Eurasian connectivity.
The SCO has placed considerable emphasis on transport corridors, logistics centres, rail and road modernization, energy cooperation, trade facilitation and the creation of a broad economic space across Eurasia. An economically connected Afghanistan could potentially become a bridge between Central Asia and South Asia rather than a source of instability between them–this is particularly relevant to Pakistan.
Pakistan’s geographical position gives it a natural interest in connecting Central Asian economies with South Asian markets through Afghanistan. Stability in Afghanistan could facilitate trade, transit, energy cooperation and broader regional connectivity. Instability, on the other hand, can turn every proposed corridor into a security liability.
Therefore, Afghanistan’s peace is not only a Pakistani security requirement; it is potentially an economic prerequisite for the SCO’s Eurasian connectivity ambitions.
The wider message of the Bishkek Declaration is that the SCO does not see security in narrow military terms. The organization links security with economic development, food and energy security, connectivity, technology, climate resilience and social development. Afghanistan fits into this broader conception of security.
A peaceful Afghanistan would reduce terrorism and narcotics threats, facilitate regional trade, improve connectivity between Central and South Asia and potentially contribute to energy and economic integration. Conversely, a destabilized Afghanistan could undermine precisely those objectives that the SCO is seeking to advance.
The Afghan question is no longer simply a bilateral issue between Kabul and its neighbours, nor is it exclusively a South Asian problem, it is increasingly a Eurasian security, connectivity and economic integration issue and the Bishkek Declaration has acknowledged this reality.
