BACKGROUND: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was created in June 2001, comprising China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Pakistan was the first country to apply for the status of \'Observer\' in the SCO. However, Pakistan\'s entry was blocked because of its Afghan policy. The post-9/11 developments and the new posture and role of Islamabad in the ongoing war against terror has gradually changed the perception of the SCO’s member states of Pakistan. At the time of Pakistan’s admission into the SCO as an observer during the Astana summit of July 2005, the member states showed confidence in Islamabad’s ability to cooperate in expanding the SCO’s opportunities in terms of developing multilateral and mutually beneficial collaboration in various directions. On June 15, 2006 the Shanghai Cooperation Organization celebrated its fifth anniversary. The heads of all member countries and observers participated in the celebrations. President Musharraf represented Pakistan in the summit. He was especially invited by his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao. During the summit, President Musharraf presented his case why Pakistan should be granted full membership and also expressed hope that his participation in the summit will help Islamabad’s efforts to secure full membership in the organization. Ten documents were signed during the summit. As reported in the 12 July CACI Analyst, [LINK] primary among them was a declaration on the SCO’s fifth anniversary, a joint communiqué on closer SCO cooperation, a statement on international information security, an anti-terrorism resolution and an agreement on joint anti- terrorism actions among member countries. Over the years, the SCO has emerged as an important regional organization which is now viewed by a number of western, and especially American scholars, as a challenge to American interests. They view it as a new \"Warsaw Pact\". What is more worrisome for this group of analysts is the dominant role of Russia and especially China in the SCO. Lately, the SCO has firmed its grip on Central Asia when it received Uzbekistan fully back into its fold, and its clear support for the regimes in the region and the vacation of American forces from its bases in the region. SCO policies regarding a number of regional issues, especially Iran and Palestine, (Russia’s invitation to the Hamas Leadership) is also counter to America’s agenda in the region. The invitation to the Iranian President to attend the summit resulted in sharp criticism from Washington. U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is on record for criticizing Russia and China for supporting and for drawing Iran closer to the SCO. It seems that in the emerging geo-political fault lines in the region and in the world, the SCO is set to play a major role. Pakistan, which currently is an observer, can not remain aloof from such an important organization. A number of geo-political and geo-economical realities dictate that Islamabad should make every effort in joining this group. In this regard, the idea put forward by President Musharraf of Pakistan as an energy corridor for the SCO member countries merits serious analysis.

IMPLICATIONS: Since Pakistan reassessed its regional policy objectives, it has emerged as a responsible regional country which is a bridge between South and Central Asia. Its strategic location, thriving economy, and historical links with South and Central Asia make it an ideal candidate for membership in the SCO. Islamabad enjoys genial relation with the Central Asian states with which it shares civilizational and historical ties, Beijing is Islamabad’s most trusted ally; Russia-Pakistan relations are also heading in a positive direction. It has signed a number of agreements with the Central Asian states. Central Asian leaders visit Pakistan frequently, the Almaty-Karachi road via Karakorum (Almaty-Bishkek-Kashgar-Karakorum-Islamabad-Karachi) is functioning, the Trans-Afghan Pipeline has been revived, and there are reports that Pakistan is ready to extend the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline to China. Recent reports point out that Pakistan\'s overall trade with the SCO is around US $2 billion. This is not an encouraging figure as compared to its potential, illustrating that much needs to be done. As Aftab Kazi correctly asserts, “the geo-strategic location of Pakistan provides the most convenient modern rail and road facilities to Central Asia with relatively short distances. A comparative overview of distances between Islamabad and Karachi and the capital cities of Central Asia as well as existing Soviet-era Russian port facilities illustrates this point”. However, the most significant factor in this regard is the Gwadar port. Primarily being built for economic and trade purposes, however, if viewed through the prism of any future geo-political competition in the Indian Ocean, its geo-strategic location can not be overlooked. Interestingly, the Gwadar port and related connecting routes with Afghanistan actually further reduce these distances by approximately 500 km for Pakistan-Central Asia traffic. Against this backdrop, addressing the SCO summit in Shanghai on June 15, President Musharraf accentuated Pakistan’s strong credentials for securing full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: \"Pakistan provides the natural link between the SCO states to connect the Eurasian heartland with the Arabian Sea and South Asia,\" he said, adding \"We offer the critical overland routes and connectivity for mutually beneficial trade and energy transactions intra-regionally and inter-regionally.\" Another significant development which recently took place is the agreement between Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan for electricity supply to Pakistan to meet with the present shortage and manage future energy requirements. This supply of electricity could help improve the power supply situation in Pakistan. Another significant development is President Putin’s announcement that Gazprom would be ready to participate in the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline. It seems that Pakistan and Iran, who are key members of another regional economic grouping – the, which also includes the Central Asian states – can immensely contribute to the economic development of the region. In fact, there is an overlap between the ECO and the SCO. Economic cooperation between the two can positively contribute to all states and especially the linking of Central Asian economies with Iran and Pakistan, which will not only increase their economic development but also help resolve a number of problems which they might face when the WTO is enforced. Projects such as the electricity project mentioned above, the Trans-Afghan Pipeline, and the access provided to these states to the European and far eastern economies through Gwadar and Chabahar, can virtually change the economic and strategic outlook of this region. Other than economic development, Islamabad can immensely benefit from the SCO experience. Islamabad and New Delhi can use the SCO’s experience in resolution of boundary disputes. Under the SCO banner, Islamabad can improve its defense and security relations with Russia and the SCO\'s regional anti-terrorism structure (RATS) will help Pakistan in institutionalizing anti-terrorism cooperation in a more comprehensive manner and at a wider scale. One keen Pakistani observer of the regional and global developments has rightly pointed out that “there is no chance of militaristic NATO vs. SCO battle lines in the region. But inevitably there will be rivalry and competition for sources of energy and pipelines that carry it.” This increases the need for Pakistan, a designated U.S. non-NATO ally, to make correct decisions.

CONCLUSIONS: The recent SCO summit is a hallmark event and will have long lasting implications. It has also set the future course for the organization and the member countries. Pakistan, in keeping with the geo-political and geo-economic reasons, can not ignore these developments which will have an effect on it. President Musharraf has eloquently presented Pakistan’s case for membership to SCO. His offer of Pakistan as an energy corridor deserves deeper analysis and thought by all concerns. However, the goal of membership may not be very close for Pakistan yet, as it has a lot to do on a number of fronts such as terrorism, human, economic and social development.

AUTHOR’S BIO:Rizwan Zeb, Institute of Regional Studies, Islamabad, Pakistan.