New Delhi: Pakistan has skipped a crucial military medicine conference of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) being organised by India in the national capital.
The two-day summit was inaugurated Thursday by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Pakistan was formally invited to attend the meet, but it chose to not send any representatives. As the conference began, the seats allotted to Pakistan were seen vacant.
“This is an SCO meet. And Pakistan was invited as an SCO member, but it did not come,” said a senior officer in the Indian Army who didn’t wish to be named. He said that all invitations were extended through the SCO secretariat.
Pakistan is usually never invited for any event that India organises for other countries on its own, but New Delhi is only hosting the SCO meet.
This is the first military cooperation event that India is hosting under the SCO Defence Cooperation Plan 2019-2020 after it became a member state of the body in 2017. The meet aims to share best practices in the field of military medicine, build capacities and overcome common challenges.
During the conference, the Indian armed forces will display their Rapid Action Medical Team and organise a visit for the delegates to the Army Research and Referral Hospital.
About 27 international delegates from Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Sri-Lanka and Nepal are attending the conference, apart from 40 Indian representatives.
Pakistan’s choice to skip the event comes despite confirming participation in an ongoing military exercise, scheduled from 10-21 September, at Orenburg in Russia — an initiative under the SCO.
The military exercise, which comes amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over the abrogation of Article 370, also involves Iran, an SCO observer state. Its theme is ‘employment of forces for countering intentional terrorism and for proving military security in central Asian region’.
‘Bio-terror is a real threat’
Speaking at the conference Thursday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh underlined the importance of building capabilities to deal with the menace of bio-terrorism.
“Bio-terror is a real threat today. It breaks out as a contagious plague and the armed forces and its medical services have to be at the forefront of combating this menace,” he said.
Singh added that the threat of nuclear, chemical and biological warfare further adds to the complexity of the situation. The medical professionals of the armed forces are probably uniquely equipped to deal with these deadly challenges, he said.
He also noted that an important aspect of military medicine is casualty management strategies.
“As providers of combat medical support, it is incumbent upon the medical services to have clear, effective and rehearsed protocol with respect to casualty management strategies,” he said.