Pakistan has made a formal bid to join the Shanghai Five security forum comprising China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, Jane's Defence Weekly reported in its latest issue today.
Islamabad had submitted its application to the group's current chair Tajikistan, which was pending, the weekly said.
The Shanghai Five was launched in 1996 and its initial agenda, centred on border-related confidence-building measures, was expanded at the 1999 Bishkek Summit to cover a wider range of security-related and economic issues.
The broadened agenda includes developing cooperative measures to address issues such as international terrorism, drug trafficking and arms smuggling.
Head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt-Gen Mahmud Ahmed, had even sought China's support for inclusion in the forum during his visit in November but the initial response was reportedly non-committal, the weekly said.
Beijing has been pressuring Pakistan, its long-time ally, to rein in Afghanistan's Taliban movement. The movement's "expansionist" agenda is viewed as a threat beyond Afghanistan's border, including China's Xinjiang region.
Islamabad had submitted its application to the group's current chair Tajikistan, which was pending, the weekly said.
The Shanghai Five was launched in 1996 and its initial agenda, centred on border-related confidence-building measures, was expanded at the 1999 Bishkek Summit to cover a wider range of security-related and economic issues.
The broadened agenda includes developing cooperative measures to address issues such as international terrorism, drug trafficking and arms smuggling.
Head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt-Gen Mahmud Ahmed, had even sought China's support for inclusion in the forum during his visit in November but the initial response was reportedly non-committal, the weekly said.
Beijing has been pressuring Pakistan, its long-time ally, to rein in Afghanistan's Taliban movement. The movement's "expansionist" agenda is viewed as a threat beyond Afghanistan's border, including China's Xinjiang region.
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