The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an international organisation that was founded on 15th June, 2001, in Shanghai. Members of the SCO work together on issues such as extremism and terrorism, as well as in the political, economic, and security spheres. As a result, it might become a major platform for negotiations and exploration of potential solutions for newcomers. Tensions among the newest SCO members are more likely to hinder the organisation’s cooperative process. The tense relationship between India and Pakistan has previously hampered the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation’s institutional effectiveness (SAARC). The SCO and the conflict between India and Pakistan now have the burden of demonstrating whether it is capable of successful cooperation, despite having two well-known foreign rivals on board, or not.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and India:

• For a long time, the SCO has debated enlargement, with India declaring its intention to participate for a decade.
•  In 2005, India was invited as an observer to the SCO summit for the first time. However, the organisation had to go through a lot of arguing to come up with a procedure for bringing in new members. There was also a competition between China and Russia to see who would be the first to bring India or Pakistan into the alliance.
• A prospective SCO member must meet eight conditions, including not being in “armed conflict” with other states or having any UN Security Council sanctions, according to the criteria finalised in 2010. Even after 2010, the members were divided on whether or not growth was necessary.
• Finally, in 2014, when India’s formal application was presented, the green light was granted.

India and Pakistan’s Inclusion in SCO:

• Political researchers and specialists were divided into two settlements – Optimists and Pessimists, when India and Pakistan’s inclusion took place in 2017. 
• The Pessimists anticipated that the organisation’s admittance of New Delhi and Islamabad would spell its demise: India and Pakistan would bring their host of problems to the organisation, thus paralysing its operations.
• The Optimists, on the other hand, claimed that without India, and even without Pakistan, a full-fledged system of stability in Eurasia could not be built, hence they had to accept it since there was no other choice.
• They reasoned that perhaps the parties would be inspired by the Shanghai philosophy of cooperation understanding, and would decide to set aside their differences and work together to construct a rich and peaceful Eurasia.
•  As a result, the two countries joined the SCO.

The purpose behind India and Pakistan’s Inclusion in SCO:

Below are a few reasons for the India and Pakistan’s Inclusion in SCO:

• Boosting security, as well as military and economic cooperation, are among the SCO’s objectives.
• Its regulations also allow for non-membership forms of institutional cooperation with the organisation.
• The SCO’s role as a meeting platform, rather than an integration organisation will be strengthened with the entry of India and Pakistan to the organisation.
• These two nations are officially at odds, and the SCO serves as another convenient avenue for them to communicate with one another. The admission of these two countries to the organisation, in the eyes of China, which supports Pakistan, and Russia, which works with India, improves the organisation’s stature.

How will the SCO Resolve India and Pakistan’s Conflict?

The SCO and the conflict between India and Pakistan can be resolved in the following manner:

• As the world’s biggest intergovernmental organisation, the SCO’s founding objective is to enhance mutual trust and foster peaceable ties among its member-states.
• This will be accomplished through the SCO member states’ gradual, but constant efforts to engage in multifaceted collaboration in efforts to progress their common, shared interest in the SCO space’s long-term human and protective security.
• India and Pakistan’s inclusion in SCO was largely praised as a major step forward for the SCO in addressing the persisting security risks of extremism, terrorism, and separatism in South and Southeast Asia.
• These interrelated dangers have created an enabling climate for organised crime while expanding poverty, denying Asia’s young people the socio-economic chances and facilities they require to contribute to their countries’, as well as the rest of Asia’s, long-term development and peace.

The SCO and the Conflict between India and Pakistan:

• • It was the first joint military exercise between India and Pakistan since their freedom in 1947. This gave people a lot of hope that the two countries would be able to move past decades of recurring confrontations along the Line of Control, and start establishing inter-military trust through SCO measures, lowering tensions between India and Pakistan.
  • It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for India and Pakistan, which have always been in military conflict, to improve military cooperation and trust. This could help to stabilise the region.

• However, a quick escalation of conflict between India and Pakistan, starting on 14th February, 2019, has caused major alarm in the SCO neighbourhood and around the world.

• Now that India and Pakistan’s intimidatory moves risk intensifying into a wider battle with far-reaching implications within the SCO’s borders, the SCO should engage with the two countries as soon as possible, to persuade them to abstain from any further protectionist measures in favour of returning to direct dialogue to resolve the mounting tensions caused by recent events.
• While this should be the SCO’s priority, the RATS-SCO should be charged with identifying and assessing the existence of significant terrorist groups and their infrastructure across the SCO territory.
• In other words, RATS-SCO verification should reveal dishonest counter-terrorism policies for correction, which remain a major hindrance to efficient counter-terrorism in South Asia.

Conclusion:

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was founded in 2001, with the goal of promoting economic, security, and political cooperation among its members. As the most powerful countries in South Asia and nuclear powers, Pakistan and India were admitted as the observer states to the SCO. Since their inception, Pakistan and India have had a tense relationship that has resulted in wars and a never-ending arms race, posing a serious threat to regional stability. China and Russia are the two most powerful members of the SCO. While Pakistan has strong ties with China, India has strong ties with Russia. This raises the chances of the SCO acting as a mediator between Pakistan and India and assisting in the resolution of their stalled problems.