Beijing, China: The participants of thirteenth Meeting of the Secretaries of the Security Councils of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) expressed concerns that international terrorist organizations want to penetrate into SCO member states.
“These challenges represent the serious security and stability of the member states of the Organization, demanding the implementation of comprehensive and effective approaches to counteract them, based on equal cooperation and mutual trust”, the meeting concluded.
Islamabad Correspondent adds:
The National Security Adviser (NSA) Lt. Gen. (Retd) Nasser Khan Janjua represented Pakistan at the meeting held in Beijing on 21-22 May 2018. Addressing the meeting, the NSA General Janjua highlighted that as a new Member State of SCO, Pakistan fully subscribed to the Organization’s ideals and objectives for durable peace, stability and prosperity in the SCO region and beyond.
He stated that given the scale and dimension of security challenges in the SCO region, Member States should enhance cooperation and develop comprehensive strategies to effectively counter the old and new threats to regional peace and security. He stressed that the fight against terrorism should be waged on the basis of norms and principles of international law; terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality or ethnicity; and all efforts against terrorism must be devoid of bias and “double standards”.
Underscoring Pakistan’s commitment to the fight against terrorism and its achievements, the National Security Adviser said that over the last two decades, Pakistan has been at the forefront in fighting terrorism and had paid a heavy cost. However, neither the human nor the financial losses had diminished Pakistan’s resolve to fight this menace.
General Janjua underscored the significance and urgent need to find an early settlement to the decades old conflict in neighboring Afghanistan. In this context, he assured that Pakistan would continue its efforts and cooperation for finding a peaceful and negotiated settlement to the Afghan conflict, under an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process. He also assured of Pakistan’s cooperation and participation in all regional efforts to counter the menace of narcotics and illicit drugs in the region.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Secretaries signed the outcome document of the meeting. The Secretariat of the SCO issued a press release informing about the decisions made in the outcome document and expressing the common resolve of SCO countries to tackle the threats of terrorism and extremism in the SCO region.
Later in the day, General Janjua along with Secretaries of other SCO member states paid a group call on President Xi Jumping in which they briefly exchanged views on regional security issues and SCO’s planes and activities to address the prevailing challenges in the region.
On the sidelines of the SCO meeting, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Janjua also held bilateral meetings with the Secretaries of the National Security Council of Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. During these meetings, issues pertaining to bilateral security cooperation and mutual interest were discussed.
On May 21-22, 2018, in Beijing, under the chairmanship of the Chinese side, the thirteenth Meeting of the Secretaries of the Security Councils of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (hereinafter referred to as the SCO or the Organization) was held.
Moscow Correspondent adds
The event was attended by Deputy National Security Adviser of the Republic of India Rajinder Khanna, Assistant to the President – Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan N. Yermekbayev, Member of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Zhao Kezhi, Secretary of the Security Council of the Kyrgyz Republic D.K.Sagynbayev, Advisor on National Security of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Nasser Khan Janjua, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation NP Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of Tajikistan Mill A.A.Kaharov, Secretary of Security Council at the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan V.V.Mahmudov and SCO Secretary General R.K.Alimov and Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Antiterrorist Structure E.S.Sysoev.
The heads of delegations were received by the President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping.
The parties welcomed the first participation in the meetings of the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as SCO member states.
The meeting was held in a traditionally friendly and constructive atmosphere.
The sides exchanged views on the situation in the field of security and stability in the Organization’s space, discussed issues of further development of cooperation of the SCO member states in countering terrorism, separatism and extremism, illegal trafficking and struggle, transnational organized crime, and ensuring international information security.
The need to share efforts to ensure a comprehensive, integrated, sustainable and cooperative and indivisible security, including in the search for collective answers to modern threats and challenges in the interests of ensuring peace and stability, and to form a common vision of the community of the common destiny of mankind.
The parties stated that the world is currently undergoing a period of transformation, the geopolitical landscape is becoming increasingly diverse and multipolar. Serious and profound changes concern the sphere of ensuring security. The tendency to growth of terrorist activity, illegal drug trafficking and transnational organized crime continues. There have been attempts by international terrorist organizations to penetrate the SCO space. These challenges represent the serious security and stability of the member states of the Organization, demanding the implementation of comprehensive and effective approaches to counteract them, based on equal cooperation and mutual trust.
The participants were of the view that the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is one of the most important tasks of the member states of the Organization, the parties noted the need for comprehensive measures in this direction.
The sides welcomed efforts to create a single global anti-terrorist front under the aegis of the United Nations, acting on the basis of international law. They confirmed the rejection of the application of the policy of “double standards” towards terrorists and extremists. The central role of states and their competent bodies in the spheres of countering terrorism and extremism on their territory, as well as in the framework of international profile cooperation, is underlined.
The importance of continuing efforts to adopt the Comprehensive Convention Against International Terrorism by consensus was noted.
The sides welcomed the initiative of Kazakhstan to launch the Code of Conduct on the achievement of a world free from terrorism on the UN platform.
The heads of delegations noted the importance of the SCO Convention on Countering Extremism, signed on June 9, 2017 in Astana, and the statements made at the upcoming summit of the Council of Heads of the SCO member states in Qingdao on the Program of Cooperation in Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism for 2019-2021.
The parties called for the effective implementation of requirements related to countering terrorism.
The importance of adoption at the upcoming SCO summit in Qingdao was noted. Joint appeals of the heads of state, as well as the Program of Action for its implementation, participation in preventing the involvement of youth in the activities of terrorist and extremist organizations.
The sides welcomed the holding of an international scientific and practical conference on countering extremism and terrorism (Moscow, April 3, 2018).
