India non-committal on Pakistan-led SCO in 2027. PM Modi to attend Bishkek summit next week
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State summit is scheduled to be held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, from August 31 to September 1, 2026
India has not committed to a position on Pakistan taking over the SCO chairmanship in 2027, with the Ministry of External Affairs stating that a decision on India's engagement will be made "by an appropriate authority at the appropriate time"
The government has clarified it engages with the SCO as an institution while maintaining separate bilateral protocols with individual member states
India continues to emphasize a "zero tolerance on terrorism" position within the SCO framework, including through the organisation's counter-terrorism mechanism
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation — Origins and Membership
The SCO traces its roots to the "Shanghai Five" — China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan — formed in 1996 as a mutual security/border-confidence grouping. On June 15, 2001, these states plus Uzbekistan formally established the SCO as a broader political, economic, and security organisation.
Key Details
- Founding members (2001): China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
- India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017; Iran joined in 2023; Belarus joined in 2024 — taking full membership to 10 states
- The SCO Secretariat is headquartered in Beijing; the organisation also has an extensive network of "dialogue partners" and "observer states" (a tier below full membership)
India and Pakistan's simultaneous 2017 accession is the backdrop against which India's 2026 non-committal stance on a future Pakistan-led chairmanship should be read — both are full, equal members under SCO rules, and chairmanship rotates alphabetically/by consensus among all members regardless of bilateral relations.
SCO Chairmanship Rotation and Consensus Principle
Like most consensus-based regional blocs, the SCO chairmanship rotates annually among member states in a set order, with the chair hosting the annual Council of Heads of State summit and associated ministerial meetings. Because SCO decisions operate by consensus rather than majority vote, a member's diplomatic engagement with the chair year is a matter of choice on modality (leader-level attendance vs. lower-level representation), not membership obligation.
Key Details
- India chaired the SCO for the first time in 2022-23, hosting the 23rd Council of Heads of State summit virtually on July 4, 2023, under the theme "SECURE" (Security, Economic development, Connectivity, Unity, respect for sovereignty, Environment); the summit produced the New Delhi Declaration on counter-terrorism
- Pakistan has separately hosted SCO Heads of Government-level meetings in recent years
- The current chair rotation places Kyrgyzstan hosting the 2026 Heads of State summit at Bishkek, with Pakistan slated to take the chair in 2027
India's 2023 chairmanship — held virtually, reportedly reflecting the same bilateral caution now on display — offers a direct precedent: India can remain a full, active SCO member while calibrating the level and format of its engagement with a chair year hosted by a country with which it has strained bilateral ties.
Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) and India's SCO Priorities
RATS is the SCO's dedicated counter-terrorism body, established in 2004 to facilitate intelligence-sharing and coordinate joint action among member states against terrorism, separatism, and extremism (the SCO's original "three evils" framework).
Key Details
- RATS Executive Committee is headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
- India has consistently used the SCO platform to push a "zero tolerance on terrorism" position, including objecting to double standards in how member states characterize terrorism
- The SCO's founding charter emphasizes non-interference, sovereignty, and territorial integrity — principles India invokes when addressing cross-border terrorism concerns involving fellow member states
India's institutional (rather than country-specific) framing of its SCO engagement — treating the organisation and its counter-terrorism architecture as separate from bilateral relations with any one member — is consistent with how RATS is meant to function irrespective of which state holds the rotating chair.
- SCO founded: June 15, 2001 (Shanghai); precursor "Shanghai Five" formed 1996
- Bishkek Heads of State summit: August 31-September 1, 2026
- Full membership: 10 states (6 founding + India and Pakistan in 2017 + Iran in 2023 + Belarus in 2024)
- India's first SCO chairmanship: 2022-23; hosted the 23rd Summit virtually on July 4, 2023 (theme: "SECURE"; outcome: New Delhi Declaration)
- RATS established: 2004; headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
- Pakistan is set to assume the SCO chairmanship in 2027