Shanghai Cooperation Organization Urges Interim Government to Form Inclusive Administration

Bayan News – Zhang Ming, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), has called for the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan, emphasizing the need for representation from all Afghan ethnic groups, as well as political and religious factions.

Zhang expressed these remarks in an interview with Russia’s Izvestia newspaper, stating that such a government would be in Afghanistan’s best interest. The Russian newspaper published the report on Monday, October 28.

Mr. Zhang added, “The issue of Afghanistan is crucial for ensuring peace, stability, and security in the region.” In this interview, he clearly stated: “We hope Afghanistan will become a nation free from terrorism, war, and drugs, and we look forward to seeing a government in the future that includes a broad representation of all political, ethnic, and religious groups.”

According to Zhang, such measures would benefit Afghanistan, SCO member states, and the global community as a whole.

This request comes as the interim government claims the current Kabul administration is inclusive, saying that representatives of all ethnic groups are included.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, founded in 2001 by Russia and China, has nine member states, including Belarus, Iran, Pakistan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Afghanistan joined the SCO as an observer on June 7, 2012; however, the interim Taliban government has not been invited to SCO meetings for the past three years. The 16th SCO meeting was recently hosted by the Pakistani government in Islamabad.

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