Pakistan on Tuesday abstained from attending a military medicine specialist conference organized under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) framework. The reason for Pakistan's absence was due to objections raised by the Indian side regarding the use of maps that depicted the country's borders incorrectly, particularly in regards to Kashmir, Hindustan Times reported citing sources.
๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ป ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ฝ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ธ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ๐น๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฝ
India's External Affairs Ministry brought up the issue after Pakistani officials used maps in a prior SCO meeting that depicted Kashmir as part of their country. This has been a recurring issue that has affected recent SCO meetings. As India prepares to host several official and ministerial meetings leading up to the SCO Summit scheduled for July, this matter is of significant concern.
According to a HT source, Pakistan had intended to participate in an official capacity at a think tank conference centered around the theme of "SCO Armed Forces Contribution in Military Medicine, Healthcare and Pandemics". However, due to an objection raised by India, Pakistan ultimately decided not to attend.
๐๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐, ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐
The conference organized by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA) in New Delhi was not likely to affect other scheduled meetings within the SCO framework.
The seminar aimed to facilitate the sharing of exemplary practices in military medicine, healthcare, and pandemic control. The theme was selected based on the notable contributions made by various armed forces in combating Covid-19 through the provision of isolation facilities, emergency medical equipment, and support for vaccination campaigns in hard-to-reach regions, over the past two and a half years.
Officials have revealed that a think tank conference was arranged to explore how the eight member states of the SCO can address future challenges, considering that the armed forces of SCO countries are often at the forefront of dealing with such issues.
๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ธ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฝ
During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in September 2020, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval exited a virtual meeting of high-ranking SCO security officials. This came after the Pakistani representative displayed a map with inaccurate depictions of the borders between the two countries.
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