Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday called upon other nations to condemn India’s illegal and unilateral actions in occupied Kashmir which can disrupt regional and global peace.
Addressing the 20th Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Heads of State via a video link, the premier said Pakistan supports the implementation of UN Security Council resolution to create an “environment of stability and prosperity”.
Russia President Vladimir Putin, who presided the meeting, had extended the invitation to the premier.
On freedom of speech, PM Imran Khan said, "Deliberately insulting religion and religious beliefs provokes hatred, leading to further polarization and fragmentation of humanity."
The premier maintained that that was wrong to use terrorism related issues as a political tools against a community, race or party.
Referring to the Afghan peace process, Imran once again warned of spoiler to the initiative. "We must also remain mindful of the challenges ahead, especially the role of the spoilers within and outside who do not want peace and stability to return to Afghanistan."
He reiterated that there is no military solution to the Afghan problem.
Praising China for its support to other countries, including Pakistan, in the fight against the coronavirus, the premier said stage three trials are underway in Pakistan and Islamabad and Beijing cooperate closely.
He also lauded the efforts of the SCO in promoting regional connections and said this was the way forward to peace and prosperity.
Besides the United Nation’s Secretary-General António Guterres and the SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov, leaders from all eight SCO member states and four observer states would attend the conference.
The forum is expected to adopt 16 documents including the 'Moscow Declaration' reflecting member states' stance on important regional and international issues.
SCO's major objectives include promoting mutual confidence and good-neighbourly relations among member states, strengthening regional peace, security and stability, and creating a framework for effective cooperation in political, cultural, trade and economy and other fields.
The platform is an important forum for further enriching deep-rooted historical and cultural links with member states, providing these ties with a sound economic foundation, and promoting Pakistan as a regional trade and transit corridor.
Since becoming a member in 2017, Pakistan had been actively contributing to the promotion of SCO's multi-sectoral agenda through participation in various SCO mechanisms.
Besides Pakistan, SCO's current membership comprises China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
In September it was reported that SCO was getting stronger and gaining larger influence in a fractured region with each passing year. It can become a key forum for regional economic prosperity in the aftermath of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
That was why the next SCO heads of states meeting was deemed crucial for coming up with a new regional policy framework.
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday stressed the need for coordinated global efforts to combat the novel coronavirus, saying that the "imperative of a common approach [...] has increased manifold" amid the ongoing health crisis that has killed more than 1.2 million people and wrecked the world economy.
The prime minister made the remarks while speaking via video link at the 20th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) Council of Heads of State.
"Humanity faces the possibility of a slow recovery and a prolonged economic slump with rising poverty and inequality," warned PM Imran, while highlighting the dangers posed by the novel coronavirus.
"Under the circumstances, the imperative of a common approach to limit the spread of infectious diseases, reduce the effects and develop potential remedies has increased manifold. Yet global harmony and multilateralism are undermined by rising geopolitical tensions, unilateralism and isolationism."He lauded the SCO's call for "effective multilateralism" and expressed the belief that the forum, with its "core principles of solidarity and mutual support, would be effective in combatting the effects of Covid-19".
"At a time when the world is bereft of global vision and shared solutions, SCO has called for effective multilateralism, with the UN playing a central coordinating role," the prime minister noted.
He also praised China for its "effective handling" of the virus as well as its assistance to other countries, including Pakistan, to cope with the health crisis.
The prime minister told the participants of the meeting that China and Pakistan were working in collaboration to develop a vaccine, which was undergoing Phase-III trials. He also highlighted steps taken by Pakistan to curb the virus' spread while also helping the lower-income class.
The premier acknowledged that steps to help vulnerable countries had been taken on a global scale, including the provision of debt relief by the G-20 countries, but added that more needed to be done.
Without naming any country, Prime Minister Imran called for "faithfully implementing UN Security Council resolutions for peaceful solutions to outstanding disputes" and said that "unilateral and illegal measures to change the status of disputed territories [...] adversely affect regional environment".
He repeated his belief that the Afghanistan conflict did not have a military solution and said that the "best way forward" was a negotiated political arrangement, adding that Pakistan supported an "Afghan-led and and the Afghan-owned peace process".
