Daily Times

July 10, 2015 will be marked as a red-letter day for both Pakistan and India because their submission for full membership into the powerful Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was approved by the Council of Heads of State at the SCO’s 15th summit, in the Russian town of Ufa. This is the first time that the SCO has expanded its tight knit organisation, a decade and a half after its launch. Originally the Shanghai Five, comprising of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, was founded in 1996; with the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the group was renamed as the SCO.
The advent of the SCO, to promote neighbourliness and friendly cooperation, has been perceived with misgivings by the Occident. Renowned US political scientist, Thomas Ambrosio, said that the SCO was created to promote authoritarian norms in Central Asia. Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter, extending geopolitical analyst John Mackinder’s “heartland theory”, said that the “control of the Eurasian land mass is the key to global domination and control of Central Asia is the key to control of the Eurasian land mass”. It has been propagated that Russia, with China’s support, is rekindling its ambition of Eurasian control and global supremacy.
The SCO member states, representing half of humanity, have established relations with the UN, EU, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Commonwealth of Independent States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to enhance the quality of life of its members. In this milieu, let us examine what strengths Pakistan brings to this august institution and what its expectations would be from the SCO. The main focus of the SCO is the security concerns of its member nations, especially terrorism, extremism and separatism. Pakistan is at the frontline of combating terrorism, has gained valuable understanding of this challenge and would be privileged to share that experience with the SCO states, some of whom have also faced the bane of all three evils. Pakistan’s military has established state of the art antiterrorism schools, where training is imparted to combat terrorism in realistic scenarios. The SCO member states could be invited to hold joint antiterrorism exercises with Pakistan, bringing in their own perspectives and experiences to mutually combat terrorism.
Past SCO summits indicate that the organisation’s activities for the social development of its member states have gained traction. The Ufa summit coincided with the launch of the $ 100 billion reserve currency pool, NDB. This is a major achievement because the New Development Bank (NDB) will supplement the existing international financial institutions. However, it marks the commencement of a new “silk order”, which is likely to leave the era of the dollar and the financial infrastructure of Bretton Woods, comprising of the IMF and the World Bank, behind. The new silk world order, which also incorporates Chinese President Xi Jinping’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) Project, envisaged by China and ably supported by Russia, goes beyond Eurasia and includes everything, such as a transcontinental, mega railroad network connecting the Iberian Peninsula to the South China Sea and a vast array of terrestrial and maritime infrastructure linking China to the rest of Asia, Europe and East Africa.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s vision of the OBOR, when seen on a map, resembles a horse shoe. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will complete the circle when it is successfully completed. Pakistan is strategically located at the confluence of three continents and three important maritime passages and holds the key to providing additional connectivity to China and maritime access to Central Asian states. Under the SCO framework, Pakistan will have the confidence and support of the other members, besides China, to complete the CPEC successfully and expeditiously to help achieve the dreams of economic development of the underdeveloped countries in the region, which will also benefit from the mega project.
A caveat that could mar the progress of the SCO is the India-Pakistan rivalry. Perhaps it is a myth that two rival members cannot see eye to eye, as was demonstrated by China and Russia overcoming their differences to be functional in the SCO, NDB and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. India’s membership into the SCO was endorsed by Russia, while Pakistan’s was supported by its all-weather, strategic cooperation partner, China. This could have resulted in a stalemate, but Russia’s decision to not oppose Pakistan’s application and China’s decision to not object to India’s membership carried the day. Both Russia and China, being central stakeholders, will oversee smooth coordination between the member states. Pakistan will be able use the platform to iron out creases with India, with the help of China. This will give credence to the organisation, which will hopefully be the harbinger of peace and prosperity in the entire region, including Afghanistan. Pakistan’s entry into the SCO is not just figurative but substantial.

The writer is a former group captain of PAF, who also served as air and naval attaché at Riyadh. Currently, he is a columnist, analyst and a television show host