The defence ministers of Pakistan and India—Khawaja Asif and Rajnath Singh—are both attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Defence Ministers’ Summit, currently underway in Qingdao, China. This marks the first time senior defence officials from the two countries have appeared at the same international event since the recent four-day military standoff known as “Marka-e-Haq.”
The two-day summit, hosted by Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun, is taking place in the eastern province of Shandong. According to reports, there is a possibility of a bilateral meeting between Asif and Singh on the sidelines of the conference, although nothing has been formally confirmed.
On the summit’s opening day, Minister Dong held separate meetings with his counterparts from several countries, including Pakistan, Iran, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. He emphasized the need to uphold global strategic stability and called for fairness and justice in international relations.
The defence ministers’ meeting follows Tuesday’s gathering of the SCO member states’ security council secretaries. Pakistan’s National Security Adviser (NSA) represented the country during that session. According to an official press release, the NSA met with Chinese leadership and other delegates, highlighting Pakistan’s commitment to regional peace and its role as a “net stabiliser” in South Asia.
During the discussions, the NSA reiterated Pakistan’s support for stronger bilateral and security cooperation with China, and emphasized the need for a stable regional environment. China’s Public Security Minister, Wang Xiaohong, echoed these themes and laid out a five-point proposal for enhanced regional security cooperation.
His proposal urged SCO nations to deepen law enforcement collaboration, strengthen anti-terrorism efforts, combat transnational crime, and promote multilateral solutions to shared global challenges.
