Islamabad: Pakistan and Uzbekistan have signed a protocol on Tuesday to establish the first-ever joint security commission.
Pakistan’s National Security Adviser (NSA) and his Uzbekistan counterpart Lt. Gen. Victor Makhmudov signed the protocol after the inaugural session of the commission was held in Islamabad. The agreement “will help strengthen coordination on security and regional connectivity between our two brotherly countries” Moeed Yusuf said in a tweet.
Uzbekistan’s Secretary of the Security Council Victor Makhmudov is on a three-day visit to Pakistan with a 5-member delegation at the invitation of Pakistan’s NSA. He will also hold meetings with Prime Minister Imran Khan and Pakistan’s Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa.
Expand cooperation
“The protocol covers wide-ranging security-related matters of mutual interest and establishes coordination mechanism between Pakistan’s National Security Division (NSD) and the Security Council of Uzbekistan,” the official statement said.
Pakistan and Uzbekistan would expand cooperation against terrorism, transnational crimes, drug trafficking under the new security commission. The two countries would also assist each other on anti-narcotics force and disaster management capacity building, Pakistan’s NSA said at the press conference after the signing. The joint security commission would also strengthen defence and military cooperation and activate previous agreements.
Pakistan’s NSD remains the key coordinating body while officials Pakistan’s ministries of defence, foreign affairs, interior, law as well anti-narcotics force (ANF), national disaster management authority (NDMA) and federal board of revenue (FBR) are also part of the meetings with the Uzbek delegation regarding the commission.
Afghanistan situation
During the hour-long one-on-one meeting, the two NSAs also discussed the Afghanistan developments. Pakistan and Uzbekistan shared the same stance on Afghanistan that there should be constructive engagement with the current government of Afghanistan to avert a humanitarian crisis that could further severely affect the neighbouring countries, Yusuf said.
Responding to a question, Pakistan’s NSA said he would not be attending the NSA-level talks on Afghanistan being hosted by India.
Trade and connectivity potential
The visit emphasizes Pakistan’s enhanced outreach to Central Asia under its geo-economics policy. The Uzbek delegation will also visit the Torkham border - a key border crossing with neighbouring Afghanistan. They would also witness the arrival of four cargo trucks all the way from Uzbekistan via Afghanistan to Pakistan.
In May this year, Pakistan’s first transport under the TIR system was sent to Uzbekistan via the land route which was termed as a landmark achievement in “Pakistan’s transit trade history”. The trade route from Pakistan to Uzbekistan has been described as the first step towards achieving the Pakistan government’s long-term vision to develop and expand trade and economic partnership with Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and all Central Asian Republics (CARs).
“Uzbekistan due to its close proximity with Afghanistan is a very crucial element in attaining our geo-economic paradigm” and improving trade and connectivity for regional development, Moeed Yusuf said.
