New Delhi: Even as Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was present at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, Field Marshal Asim Munir’s arrival in Tianjin on Monday once again revealed who wields power in Islamabad.
Munir, the first serving Pakistan army chief to attend the Summit in this capacity, arrived at a time when media reports suggest that the Pakistan prime minister was sidelined by some of the SCO member states. It is learnt that Munir travelled separately in keeping with protocols, since the PM and the army chief do not tour together.
Sharif, along with Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, had reached Tianjin on Saturday. On ‘X’, the Pakistan PM had described his visit as ‘historic’.
The Pakistan army chief, according to the media reports, was ushered into closed-door discussions with senior Chinese officials and prepared for a possible meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He is also likely to attend China’s military parade on Wednesday, highlighting growing military-to-military cooperation between Beijing and Islamabad.
Munir joined Sharif in private sessions, including talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Azerbaijan Prime Minister Ali Asadov, according to the sources in the know.
Sharif delivered a carefully worded address urging dialogue and regional cooperation. His speech emphasised Pakistan’s commitment to dialogue and its respect for international treaties, Dawn reported. He alluded to India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), claiming that such unilateral actions undermined regional cooperation. New Delhi kept the IWT in abeyance, following the 22 April terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir.
“Uninterrupted access to due share of water as per existing treaties among SCO members will strengthen the SCO working smoothly and will support the achievement of broader goals for which the SCO was established,” Sharif said at the summit.
The Pakistan PM also called for a “comprehensive and structural dialogue” within the SCO to resolve disputes, insisting that his country sought “normal and stable” relations with all neighbours. ‘The SCO is a platform that best represents Pakistan’s abiding commitment to regional cooperation and integration.”
Sharif also raised terrorism as a concern, claiming to have “irrefutable evidence of foreign hands” in the hijacking of the Jaffar Express train. He told delegates that Pakistan had lost more than 90,000 lives and incurred $152 billion in economic losses in its fight against militancy—sacrifices, which, he said, had “no parallel in history.”
On Afghanistan, he underlined the importance of a stable Kabul for regional peace and cited Pakistan’s trilateral dialogue featuring China as a pathway for constructive engagement. He also framed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a practical example of the SCO’s vision for connectivity and integration.
(Edited by Tony Rai)