SCO needs stronger regional mechanisms to counter terrorism: Masood Khan
Former AJK president urges greater cooperation to address shared security threats from Afghanistan
Islamabad: Former president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and former diplomat Sardar Masood Khan has said that the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) must develop stronger regional mechanisms to counter terrorism, particularly the threats emanating from Afghanistan, as the menace has become a shared security challenge for Pakistan, China, Russia and Central Asian states.
According to Kashmir Media Service, he made the remarks while discussing the recent meeting of the Council of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO RATS), hosted by Pakistan.
Sardar Masood Khan, in a statement, said the joint condemnation by Pakistan, China, Russia and India of US strikes on Iran was significant, particularly as New Delhi had joined such a condemnation for the first time. He noted that Iran’s membership of the SCO further enhanced the significance of the collective position.
He said the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), a subsidiary body of the SCO, was an appropriate forum for addressing regional security concerns. He added that India’s participation in the consensus demonstrated the platform’s potential to bring member states together on issues affecting regional stability.
Sardar Masood Khan stressed that Pakistan itself remains among the principal victims of terrorism and continues to face attacks across the country, particularly in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said the scale of the losses demonstrated that Pakistan was paying a heavy price in the fight against terrorism, with both security personnel and civilians among those affected.
He said the SCO member states had genuine reasons to view terrorism as a common regional threat, adding that the situation in Afghanistan had remained a permanent item on the organization’s agenda since 2001.
Sardar Masood Khan said RATS had identified terrorism, separatism and extremism as the “three evils” requiring collective attention. However, he observed that the SCO currently lacked sufficiently developed mechanisms to effectively counter these threats, underscoring the need for stronger regional cooperation.
Turning to Pakistan’s defence cooperation with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, he said Pakistan had already supported Riyadh by deploying aircraft, including JF-17 fighter jets, as well as drones. However, he noted that the precise triggers and thresholds for activating the strategic mutual-defence arrangements between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, as well as the trilateral Pakistan-Saudi Arabia-Türkiye agreement, had yet to be clearly identified.
Sardar Masood Khan said the regional security environment remained fluid and required continued diplomatic engagement alongside security cooperation, particularly through multilateral platforms capable of addressing terrorism as a shared regional challenge.
