SCO Secretary-General Says Afghanistan Remains Central Focus Despite Suspended Contact Group

MOSCOW — Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Secretary-General Nurlan Yermakbayev stated that Afghanistan continues to be a central focus for the organization, despite the suspension of the SCO-Afghanistan contact group.

He emphasized that developments in the country impact regional security and hold special importance for SCO members, many of which share borders with Afghanistan.

Yermakbayev noted that the SCO is monitoring recent tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan, including cross-border attacks and mutual accusations. However, he said no official requests for intervention have been received from either the Taliban or Islamabad.

In February, Pakistan carried out attacks on positions of terrorist groups in Afghanistan's border areas, accusing the Taliban of failing to control them, according to Yermakbayev's remarks.

The Taliban viewed the Pakistani attacks as a violation of its sovereignty and announced response operations.

In March, Pakistan's Defense Minister stated that his country and the Taliban are in "open armed confrontation."