Pakistan Army called in ahead of SCO summit in Islamabad

• Army personnel to be deployed to aid civil administration.
• Islamabad to host SCO summit on October 15, 16.
• Security plan for upcoming moot already in place. 

In a bid to ensure law and order situation in the federal capital during the forthcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, the federal government approved the deployment of Pakistan Army's troops in Islamabad under Article 245 of the Constitution.

Islamabad is all set to host the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting on October 15 and 16 with major foreign leaders, including Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visiting the country.

According to the notification — a copy of which is available with Geo News, a “requisite strength” of the Pakistan Army, in aid of civil power, will be deployed from Oct 5 to 17 to maintain law and order situation with respect to SCO moot and visits of VVIP delegations for the said meeting.

“The exact area of deployment along with an additional number of troops, if the requirement arises, will be worked out by Islamabad administration in consultation with concerned stakeholders,” it stated.

The federal government had approved a comprehensive plan to ensure foolproof security during the forthcoming huddle of regional leaders.

During the recent meeting, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said that additional personnel from the Pakistan Army, Rangers, Frontier Corps (FC), and Punjab police will be deployed for security duties at the SCO moot.

In July this year, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Baloch said that the summit would feature a ministerial huddle along with multiple meetings of senior officials to foster cooperation in finance, economics, socio-cultural affairs and humanitarian efforts among member states.

The SCO, comprising India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is a crucial multilateral platform, primarily for regional security and collaboration with Central Asian nations.

India’s Jaishankar will also travel to Pakistan to attend the SCO CHG meeting — which will be the first visit by an Indian foreign minister in nearly a decade.

"The external affairs minister will lead our delegation to Pakistan to participate in the SCO summit which will be held in Islamabad on 15 and 16 October," said Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesperson for Indian foreign ministry, but did not say if Jaishankar would meet any Pakistani leaders on the sidelines.

Pakistan had extended invitations to all the government heads of the SCO member states, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for the upcoming CHG meeting in Islamabad, Baloch had said.