Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Tuesday that stability in Afghanistan is essential for protecting peace across the region. He was speaking at a narrow-format session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
Dar said Pakistan wants a peaceful, stable and regionally connected Afghanistan that lives in harmony with its neighbours. He said Islamabad had made sincere efforts to support Afghan development and the welfare of its people. In return, he said, it expects only one thing from the Afghan Taliban regime: that Afghan territory not be used for terrorism against Pakistan or the wider world.
Cross-border attacks and Pakistan’s security concerns
The statement said that since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021, Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in cross-border terrorist incidents, particularly in KP and Balochistan. It added that September 2026 saw the highest monthly number of terrorist attacks Pakistan had recorded in 12 years.
Islamabad has repeatedly urged Kabul to stop militant groups from using Afghan soil to carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Pakistan maintains that the Afghan Taliban regime has failed to take effective action against groups responsible for attacks on its security forces and civilians.
Energy, transport and new sectors for SCO economic ties
Addressing the meeting, Dar said that seamless economic integration in the region depends on targeted investment in core sectors, most notably energy and transport. Pakistan, he said, strongly supports expanding investment into high-potential industries, including agriculture, mining and minerals, and information technology.
Dar said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) gives every SCO partner a strong opportunity to take part in closer economic integration. He added that Pakistan also sees artificial intelligence, digital transformation, innovation, energy cooperation and international information security as key pillars of future SCO cooperation.
Pakistan’s SCO chairmanship vision and financing proposals
Dar said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had unveiled Pakistan’s vision for its SCO Chairmanship under the theme “Turning Vision into Action: Connectivity, Innovation and Shared Prosperity.”
Dar also called for faster efforts to promote the use of national currencies for mutual settlement. He reiterated the need to establish the SCO Development Bank, an SCO Development Fund and an Investment Fund. He said such tools would advance development initiatives and help the region absorb international financial shocks.
