National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf is in Tajikistan to participate in the 16th meeting of the Secretaries of the Security Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states to be held on June 22 and 23.

Yusuf is scheduled to meet his counterparts from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and China to discuss matters of mutual interest.

The upcoming SCO meeting is of special importance as Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to visit Dushanbe for the SCO Heads of State Council meeting later this year.  

The NSA level meetings will be held on June 23, preceded by a Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) on June 22.

India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is also expected to attend the SCO’s meeting. However, he is not scheduled to meet Pakistan NSA.

SCO’s Secretaries of the Security Council meeting comes months after India and Pakistan’s effort to defuse tensions along the Line of Control (LoC), with a back-channel dialogue.