Pakistan denies blocking Afghanistan’s SCO membership — Pajhwok

KABUL (Pajhwok): Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has denied reports that Islamabad is blocking Afghanistan’s membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), saying it is not aware of any efforts to prevent Kabul from joining the regional bloc. According to media reports, Russia’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, told the Russian newspaper Izvestia on June 24 that Afghanistan is seeking full SCO membership. Kabulov said Afghanistan remains unable to participate fully in the organization’s activities due to opposition from one of its member states. Although he did not identify the country, Izvestia, citing sources, reported that Pakistan was the main opponent to expanding Afghanistan’s role in the SCO, citing security concerns. Responding to the reports at a press briefing on Thursday, Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabisaid Islamabad was not aware of any attempt to block Afghanistan’s membership. He said Afghanistan would need to establish diplomatic relations with SCO member states before it could become a full member of the organization. “Regarding Afghanistan’s membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, I think you should look at the organization’s member states and see how many of them have established diplomatic relations with Afghanistan. For Afghanistan to become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, it should at least have diplomatic relations with those countries,” Andrabi said.