DPM/FM joins PM Shehbaz Sharif for SCO meetings as Pakistan prepares to assume Council of Heads of State chairmanship
BISHKEK, Monday, August 31, 2026 (WNP): Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar concluded his one-day visit to Istanbul, where he participated in the inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee, established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement.
The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, with the participants discussing strategic and defence-related cooperation under the new mechanism.
During his stay in Istanbul, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister also held a bilateral meeting with Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, during which the two sides discussed bilateral relations and matters of mutual interest.
Dar is now travelling from Istanbul to Bishkek alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Türkiye’s Minister of National Defence Yaşar Güler to participate in the upcoming engagements in the Kyrgyz capital.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister will join Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and the Pakistani delegation for the SCO Council of Heads of State Meeting and the SCO Plus Summit.
He will also accompany the Prime Minister during his official engagements in Bishkek, including bilateral discussions with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov on September 2 on Pakistan-Kyrgyzstan relations and ways to further strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s official visit to the Kyrgyz Republic is scheduled from August 31 to September 2, 2026, during which Pakistan will assume the Chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State for 2026–27.
The participation of the Pakistani leadership in the SCO meetings is expected to provide an important platform for advancing Pakistan’s regional cooperation agenda and strengthening bilateral and multilateral engagement with SCO member states.
