The upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Beijing should primarily focus on the urgent issue of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan. This was stated by former SCO Secretary General, Kazakh diplomat Bolat Nurgaliyev, when speaking at a conference organized by the Islamabad Institute of Regional Studies, as reported by The News.

Nurgaliyev noted that Pakistan and Kazakhstan have similar assessments regarding cross-border terrorism and the security situation in Afghanistan. According to him, the presence of various radical groups there, especially the Islamic State (IS), is alarming. As the former SCO Secretary General noted, despite Kazakhstan not bordering Afghanistan, the risk of militants from Central Asia joining IS and the potential spread of radical ideology is worrying.

During his speech, he also noted that Pakistan continues to suffer from terrorist activity which can be suppressed through effective interaction with the government created by the Taliban movement. According to Nurgaliyev, the Taliban have learned from the mistakes of the past and will seek closer cooperation with regional and international organizations, provided that the Doha Agreement is observed.

According to the news agency, the event was attended by former diplomats, civil servants, journalists, students from Pakistan, as well as representatives of Central Asian countries.

Currently, the SCO unites 10 member states (Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan). Besides, there are two states with observer status (Afghanistan, Mongolia) and 14 dialogue partners (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Egypt, Cambodia, Qatar, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Sri Lanka) also interacting with the SCO.

Following the Astana summit in July, China assumed the rotating presidency of the SCO in 2024-2025, and will host the SCO summit in 2025.