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Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies

Category: Shanghai Cooperation Organization

  • Kazakhstan’s SCO Chairmanship: Navigating Complex Challenges of Regional Cooperation

    Kazakhstan’s SCO Chairmanship: Navigating Complex Challenges of Regional Cooperation

    Originally published on The Diplomatic Insight, IPDS’s sister publication. IPDS is pleased to showcase this piece by Dr. Farhat Asif, President, IPDS.

    Over the past three decades of Kazakhstan’s independence, the nation has consistently demonstrated a nuanced and pragmatic approach to regional diplomacy. Its pivotal role within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), marked by six presidencies since the organization’s inception in 2001, underscores Kazakhstan’s commitment to fostering multilateral collaboration.

    Read the full article on The Diplomatic Insight →

  • Pakistan’s Eurasian Opportunity

    Pakistan’s Eurasian Opportunity

    Pakistan has assumed the chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation at a moment when Eurasia requires political imagination backed by practical delivery. The responsibility handed over in Bishkek places Islamabad at the centre of a vast community of major powers, emerging economies, energy producers, transit states and more than three billion people. For Pakistan, this is far greater than a rotational diplomatic assignment. It is an opportunity to shape the next phase of regional cooperation.

    Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has defined the 2026–2027 chairmanship through the theme “Turning Vision into Action: Connectivity, Innovation and Shared Prosperity.” The choice of words carries significance. During its first twenty-five years, the SCO built political confidence, expanded its membership and created an extensive institutional structure. Its second quarter-century must produce visible improvements in trade, transport, technology, security and human development.

    Pakistan’s geographical position gives this ambition strategic credibility. It connects South Asia with China, Central Asia, Iran and the Arabian Sea. Its ports can offer Central Asian economies shorter access to global maritime routes, while the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor provides infrastructure around which wider regional connections can grow. Geography has already given Pakistan the map. Its chairmanship can help provide the movement.

    The first priority should be to transform connectivity into a functioning economic system. Roads and railway lines acquire strategic value when supported by efficient customs procedures, compatible transit regulations, digital documentation, banking channels and reliable border management. The SCO can provide the political coordination required to bring these elements together.

    The Trans-Afghan Railway deserves a central place in this effort. A railway linking Uzbekistan through Afghanistan with Pakistan’s seaports would offer Central Asia an important southern trade route. It could also create employment, attract investment in logistics and industry, and give Afghanistan a productive stake in regional stability. Pakistan can use its chairmanship to convene governments, financial institutions, railway authorities, port operators and private investors around an implementation framework.

    Afghanistan remains vital to the future of Eurasian connectivity. Its stability affects Pakistan, Central Asia, China, Iran and the wider SCO region. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif used the Bishkek platform to call for effective action against terrorist groups operating from Afghan territory. This concern deserves a coordinated regional response combining security engagement, economic participation, humanitarian support and sustained diplomacy.

    Pakistan brings painful experience and professional knowledge to the security agenda. More than 90,000 Pakistani lives have been lost to terrorism, alongside economic losses estimated at over $150 billion. Islamabad’s leadership of the SCO Council of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure gives it an established platform for strengthening intelligence cooperation, joint training, border security, action against terrorist financing and collective responses to cyber-enabled extremism.

    The security institutions approved at Bishkek can support this effort. The Universal Centre for Countering Challenges and Threats and the Executive Committee of the SCO Anti-Drug Centre can help member states address terrorism, organised crime, narcotics trafficking and emerging transnational risks. Pakistan’s chairmanship can focus these institutions on measurable cooperation and regular threat assessments.

    The most forward-looking element of Pakistan’s agenda is its proposal for an SCO Sovereign Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure and Governance Framework. This initiative responds to one of the defining questions of our time: whether technological advancement will narrow development gaps or deepen them.

    An SCO framework can promote responsible artificial intelligence, strengthen digital sovereignty and expand access to technological capacity across member states. It can complement China’s announcement of 100 science and technology projects over the next three years, along with proposed centres for artificial intelligence applications and basic education cooperation.

    Pakistan has a young population, an expanding digital economy, capable universities and a growing technology sector. It can connect these strengths with the SCO through joint research, start-up partnerships, scholarships, digital-skills programmes and applied artificial intelligence projects. Agriculture, healthcare, disaster forecasting, water management and public services offer immediate areas for cooperation.

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also announced that Islamabad will host the Global Resilience Expo during Pakistan’s chairmanship. This initiative could become one of the most practical outcomes of the year. SCO countries face floods, droughts, earthquakes, glacier loss, extreme temperatures and growing pressure on food and water systems. A regional expo bringing together governments, scientists, disaster-management agencies, businesses and humanitarian organisations could generate partnerships in early warning, emergency response and climate-resilient infrastructure.

    Water cooperation deserves equal prominence. At Bishkek, the Prime Minister described water as the lifeblood of the region and emphasised the binding character of agreements governing shared rivers. Across Eurasia, population growth, glacier loss and climate disruption are increasing pressure on freshwater resources. Scientific cooperation, data sharing, early-warning mechanisms and responsible treaty implementation can help protect regional peace.

    The chairmanship also offers Pakistan an opportunity to give greater energy to poverty reduction, health, culture and sports. These priorities matter because regional cooperation gains public confidence when its benefits reach households, students, workers and small businesses. The SCO’s future strength will grow through social relevance alongside diplomatic weight.

    Lahore’s designation as the SCO Tourism and Cultural Capital for 2026–2027 gives Pakistan an exceptional platform for people-to-people engagement. The city’s history, architecture, literature, cuisine and intellectual traditions can introduce the SCO community to the cultural depth of Pakistan. A year-long programme of festivals, exhibitions, university dialogues, media exchanges and youth forums can also bring Eurasia closer to Pakistani society.

    Pakistan’s diplomatic engagements in Bishkek further strengthened the foundation for its chairmanship. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held discussions with President Sadyr Japarov on trade, investment, energy, education, tourism and connectivity. Kyrgyzstan pledged support for Pakistan’s leadership of the organisation. Meetings with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, President Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus and UN Secretary-General António Guterres reflected Islamabad’s wider effort to connect bilateral partnerships with multilateral priorities.

    The 2027 SCO Council of Heads of State Summit in Islamabad will provide the culminating moment of Pakistan’s tenure. The most meaningful measure of success will be the progress achieved before the leaders arrive. A transport initiative entering implementation, an operational AI cooperation framework, stronger security coordination and a regional resilience mechanism would give the Islamabad Summit enduring value.

    Pakistan has received the chairmanship at a consequential point in the SCO’s evolution. Its greatest contribution can be the creation of a culture of delivery. By connecting Central Asia with the Arabian Sea, technology with development, security with opportunity and diplomacy with implementation, Islamabad can give practical expression to the Shanghai Spirit.

    This is Pakistan’s Eurasian opportunity. Wise leadership can turn it into a shared achievement for the entire SCO community.

    *The writer is President, Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies and has a PhD thesis on Pakistan’s Membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: Opportunities and Scope for Public Diplomacy.

  • SCO at 25—As an Election Observer

    SCO at 25—As an Election Observer

    Today 23 August 2026, citizens across Kazakhstan are electing the first Kurultai under the country’s new Constitution. This is far more than a change in the name of Parliament. The vote will create a new 145-member unicameral legislature with the authority to make laws, represent public interests and serve for the next five years.

    For Kazakhstan, the election marks an important stage in a wider process of constitutional and political renewal.

    For the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, it highlights a valuable function that receives far less public attention than summits, economic cooperation or regional security: election observation.

    Why this election matters

    The new Kurultai replaces Kazakhstan’s former bicameral Parliament, which consisted of the Mazhilis and the Senate. Its name carries deep historical meaning.

    Across the region’s political tradition, a kurultai was an assembly where leaders and communities gathered to discuss matters of collective importance.

    Kazakhstan has brought that familiar concept into a modern constitutional structure.

    All 145 deputies are being elected for five-year terms through a nationwide proportional party-list system. Voters choose between political parties, and seats are distributed according to the share of votes each party receives. Seven registered political parties entered the campaign with 545 candidates.

    At least 30 per cent of each party list must collectively comprise women, young people and persons with disabilities.

    Candidates must be Kazakh citizens aged 25 or above who have lived in the country for the previous ten years.

    More than 12.6 million citizens are eligible to vote at over 10,400 polling stations across Kazakhstan and abroad. The process is based on universal, equal and direct suffrage through a secret ballot. Digital services also help citizens check their registration and polling-station details.

    Behind these figures is a simple democratic principle. The people of Kazakhstan are choosing the representatives who will shape legislation and give institutional form to the country’s constitutional reforms.

    The SCO role few people know about

    Kazakhstan is a founding member of the SCO, and the organisation has a long record of observing elections and referendums in the country. The present delegation began its work on 20 August and will remain in Kazakhstan until 24 August under the leadership of SCO Deputy Secretary-General T. R. Midhun.

    This is the SCO’s 77th election-observation mission and its 16th in Kazakhstan. The scale of that experience deserves wider recognition.

    The SCO began developing its observer-mission regulations in 2004. The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs approved them in 2006. These rules allow the organisation to observe presidential and parliamentary elections, as well as national referendums, in member states and other participating countries that extend an invitation.

    An SCO mission brings together representatives of legislative bodies, executive institutions and election commissions from member states, along with Secretariat officials.

    Observers meet election authorities, review the legal framework and visit polling stations. Their conclusions come from direct observation, conversations and factual information gathered during the mission.

    The work follows the principles of political neutrality, objectivity, respect for national law and non-interference in domestic affairs. These principles reflect the wider SCO culture of mutual respect, sovereign equality and trust among member states.

    Why election observation is important

    Kazakhstan accredited 777 international observers from 42 countries and 13 international organisations for this election. Their presence reflects the considerable international interest surrounding the formation of the new Kurultai. It also gives election administrators and participating institutions opportunities to share experience, answer questions and demonstrate the procedures established for the vote.

    For the SCO, these missions add a practical political dimension to regional cooperation. They connect election officials, encourage professional exchange and help build confidence in public institutions.

    This aspect of the SCO deserves greater public awareness. The organisation works through specialised channels that rarely receive the visibility of its annual leaders’ summit. Election observation shows regional cooperation operating directly through laws, procedures, polling stations and citizens.

    For Pakistan and other SCO members, Kazakhstan’s election offers a useful opportunity to appreciate the breadth of the organisation’s work. It also shows how the SCO can accompany a member state during an important national process while respecting its laws, choices and constitutional identity.

    Today belongs above all to the people of Kazakhstan. Their participation will determine the composition of the country’s highest representative body and the direction of its legislative work.

    As Kazakhstan forms its first Kurultai, the country deserves sincere good wishes for a peaceful, transparent and successful election.

    The SCO Observer Mission stands alongside this national moment as a sign of regional friendship, institutional cooperation and confidence in the people of Kazakhstan.