The two -day summit of the SCO, which ended in the Chinese city of Tianjin on Monday, offered a look at a more multilateral world; Where sovereign nations can join as equals, separating from the Eurocentric model led by the west that has prevailed since the end of World War II, and is currently under severe tension.
He also offered a forum where bilateral disputes and divergent points of view can be addressed and accommodated through a multilateral lens. For example, Tianjin’s statement condemned terrorist attacks aimed at Jaffar Express and in Khuzdar, along with Pahalgam’s episode, indicating that the condemnation of militancy should not be selective, and terrorism in all its forms must be rejected.
This is also a validation of Pakistan’s narrative, since this country has been denouncing Pahalgam’s attack from the beginning, while asking the hostile foreign actors who give up supporting terrorist violence within their borders. He also suggests that the efforts of certain states to isolate Pakistan internationally failed.
In addition, the statement required a high immediate fire in Gaza, while highlighting the “catastrophic humanitarian situation” in the besieged strip and denounced the aggression of the United States and Israel against Iran.
The fact is that any emerging multilateral order must be based on justice and international law. All those who violate these basic principles must be censored, unlike the current system, where perceived enemies face all the force of the law, as well as military aggression, while friends literally come out with murder. Israel’s ongoing genocide in occupied territories is the most obvious example of this hypocrisy.
West, mainly the United States and its European allies, suspect a lot of groups such as SCO and BRICs, mainly because they challenge their hegemony rooted in world affairs. In addition, Western states are reluctant to see their ‘enemies’ as Vladimir Putin and Masoud fishshkian receiving a complete protocol. They must remember that many of them treat Benjamin Netanyahu with even more reverence despite their criminal acts. Russia and China, which are currently leading the impulse towards a more multilateral global order, may not be perfect examples to emulate. But unlike the West, they are considered to support a more equitable world system, where the global south has a voice.
Countries such as Pakistan should make the most of emerging regional and global formations. However, a set of global hegemons should not be replaced by another. Rather, a new new order is required when the social, economic and political rights of all states are respected. The future should not be confrontation between SCO/BRICS and the Western bloc, but of cooperation, where the path to progress has no attached ropes.
Posted in Dawn, September 2, 2025
