BISHKEK (The Thursday Times) — Pakistan formally assumed the chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Council of Heads of State on September 1, taking over from Kyrgyzstan at the conclusion of a two-day summit in Bishkek that adopted the Bishkek Declaration marking the organisation’s 25th anniversary.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed the summit after Pakistan assumed the chairmanship, warning against “weaponising” water for political purposes. “South Asia cannot realise its true potential without lasting peace. Water is the lifeblood of our region, it sustains millions of lives, nourishes our land,” he said, adding that it must never be “weaponised or used as an instrument of coercion.”
The chairmanship marks a genuine first for Pakistan, which became a full SCO member only in 2017, alongside India, and has not previously held the rotating chair. Islamabad will host the organisation’s 2027 Council of Heads of State summit, giving Pakistan a second major diplomatic showcase at the end of its term. Pakistan inherits an agenda Kyrgyzstan’s outgoing chairmanship had focused on regional economic cooperation, transport and connectivity, collective security, environmental protection, and cultural and humanitarian exchange.
The Bishkek summit drew a notably heavyweight guest list, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and the leaders of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus, alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Among roughly 30 documents signed at the summit was a resolution designating Lahore as the SCO’s Tourism and Cultural Capital for 2026-2027, part of the broader package of outcomes tied to Pakistan’s chairmanship.
