In a major diplomatic achievement for Pakistan, member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) have strongly condemned the recent terrorist attacks on the Jaffar Express and the school bus attack in Khuzdar.

 

“SCO Member states strongly condemned the terrorist attacks on Jaffer Express on 11 March 2025 and in Khuzdar on 21 May 2025," read an excerpt from the Tianjin Declaration, as quoted by journalist Anas Mallick in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday.

 

On March 11, 2025, Jaffar Express, with over 400 passengers on board in nine bogies, was en route from Quetta to Peshawar when it came under attack by terrorists in the Dhadar area of Bolan Pass.

 

A day later, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry made an appearance on a private media outlet, saying that the Jaffar Express clearance operation was completed and all terrorists, 33 in total, at the site of the attack had been killed, with 21 passengers and four Frontier Corps (FC) personnel martyred by the terrorists.

 

On 21 May, a terrorist suicide attack at the school bus of Army Public School (APS) near Zero Point in Khuzdar on the Quetta-Karachi highway martyred eight children, including two adults.

 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, during his SCO speech on Monday, said that "Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, lincluding state terrorism". 

 

In the presence of Indian PM Narendra Modi, PM Sharif highlighted that those who have long used terrorism to advance their "political interest" must know that the world no longer buys this "fictitious narrative".

 

He noted that Pakistan has "irrefutable evidence" of some foreign nations being involved in terrorism in the Jaffer Express attack as well as terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

 

The premier further stated Pakistan expects SCO member countries to follow all bilateral treaties, adding that the country has advocated for dialogue and diplomacy and consultation over confrontation.

 

He emphasised that Pakistan supports and respects the sovereignty and integrity of all SCO members and their neighbours, respects all international and bilateral treaties, and expects similar principles to be followed by all member nations.