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Pakistan Takes SCO Chair, Warns Water Must Not Be Weaponised After Hague Ruling

The chairmanship gives Islamabad a year to drive an action-focused agenda on connectivity, AI and energy while using a Permanent Court of Arbitration decision to press enforcement of the Indus Waters Treaty.

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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, September 1, 2026. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

Overview

  • Pakistan formally assumed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation chair for 2026–27 and will host the next Council of Heads of State meeting in Islamabad in 2027, with leaders at the Bishkek summit signing the Bishkek Declaration.
  • Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told SCO leaders that shared water "must never be weaponised," a message he linked to a Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling that the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty remains in force and that India must limit certain hydroelectric work.
  • The Bishkek Declaration, adopted by all SCO members, calls for a more representative multipolar order, opposes unilateral coercive measures, condemns strikes on Iran, backs a just settlement for Palestine, and urges an inclusive Afghan government.
  • Pakistan announced a practical chairmanship programme that prioritises regional connectivity, an SCO sovereign AI infrastructure and governance proposal, energy cooperation and the launch of the Global Resilience Expo 2026–27 in Islamabad.
  • Leaders approved new security measures including steps for SCO RATS and a Universal Center for Countering Security Challenges, and Pakistan stressed its heavy counter‑terrorism costs—a line likely to shape pressure on Afghanistan and regional diplomacy during the coming year.