The government has announced a three-day public holiday in Islamabad and Rawalpindi to facilitate the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
According to a notification issued on Monday, all educational institutions and government offices in the twin cities will remain closed from October 14 to 16.
This decision was approved by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to support the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting, which is scheduled to take place in Islamabad on October 15 and 16.
Leaders from across the Eurasian region, including the Prime Ministers of Russia and China, are expected to attend the two-day summit. Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will also travel to Islamabad for the event, marking the first visit by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in nearly nine years, with Sushma Swaraj being the last to do so in December 2015. Swaraj’s visit occurred just before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise stop in Lahore.
The SCO, a significant political, economic, and security alliance in Eurasia, was established in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The organization has since expanded to include India, Pakistan, and Iran as full members, while Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia hold observer status. The bloc is often viewed as a counterweight to Western alliances such as NATO and plays a crucial role in promoting regional cooperation.
