Pakistan Takes SCO Heads of State Chair for 2026-27 as Shehbaz Signs Bishkek Declaration
BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN — WEB DESK: Pakistan is assuming the rotating chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Council of Heads of State for 2026-27, marking a major diplomatic responsibility for Islamabad as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif joined other SCO leaders in signing the summit declaration in Bishkek on Tuesday.
The signing took place during the SCO Council of Heads of State meeting in the Kyrgyz capital, where Shehbaz represented Pakistan alongside leaders of the organisation’s other member states. Pakistan’s Foreign Office had confirmed before the summit that Islamabad would take over the chairmanship for a one-year term following the Bishkek meeting.
The transition places Pakistan at the centre of the SCO’s top political decision-making forum for the coming year and will culminate in Islamabad hosting the next SCO Council of Heads of State Summit in 2027.
Shehbaz Signs Summit Declaration
Pakistan’s state broadcaster confirmed on Tuesday that Shehbaz and other participating leaders signed the joint declaration adopted at the Council of Heads of State meeting.
Preparations for the summit had identified the Bishkek Declaration marking the SCO’s 25th anniversary among the principal documents expected to be adopted by leaders. SCO foreign ministers approved the draft declaration as a basis during their July meeting in Kyrgyzstan.
The summit agenda also included a wider package of documents covering security, economic cooperation, transport, environmental protection, artificial intelligence and cultural and humanitarian cooperation, according to official pre-summit information from Uzbekistan.
The original Express Urdu report confirms that Shehbaz signed the declaration and that Pakistan will chair the Council of Heads of State for 2026-27.
Pakistan’s Role Needs an Important Qualification
The development is sometimes described broadly as Pakistan assuming the “SCO presidency.” A more precise formulation is that Pakistan is taking over the rotating chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State (CHS) for 2026-27.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office says the country will also assume the chairmanship of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers during 2026-27. Separately, Pakistan has been chairing the SCO Council of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure for 2025-26 and permanently chairs the SCO Special Working Group on Poverty Alleviation.
This distinction matters because the SCO operates through several councils and institutional mechanisms. Pakistan is not becoming the organisation’s permanent leader, nor does the chairmanship give Islamabad unilateral authority over SCO decisions.
It is a rotational, one-year leadership role within the organisation’s established framework.
Islamabad to Host SCO Leaders in 2027
The most important practical responsibility attached to Pakistan’s new role will be hosting the next Council of Heads of State summit.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office has explicitly described the 2027 SCO leaders’ summit in Islamabad as the hallmark of the country’s chairmanship.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in June that Pakistan intends to use its chairmanship to advance economic cooperation, regional connectivity and greater interaction among the peoples of SCO member states.
Pakistan previously hosted the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Islamabad in October 2024, but the 2027 gathering will involve the organisation’s Council of Heads of State, its highest-level leaders’ format.
SCO Brings Together 10 Member States
The Bishkek summit brought together leaders of the SCO’s 10 member states.
Kyrgyzstan’s state news agency confirmed the attendance of leaders or heads of government representing Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan alongside host President Sadyr Japarov.
The organisation’s members are Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The SCO was established in 2001 and has expanded from its original Central Asian-centred security framework into a broader Eurasian organisation dealing with security, counterterrorism, trade, connectivity, economic cooperation and other regional issues.
Pakistan became a full SCO member in 2017.
Shehbaz Represents Pakistan at Leaders’ Meeting
The Bishkek summit forms the centrepiece of Shehbaz’s three-day official visit to Kyrgyzstan from August 31 to September 2.
According to Pakistan’s Foreign Office, his programme includes participation in both the Council of Heads of State meeting and the SCO Plus Summit, as well as bilateral engagements.
The prime minister is accompanied by senior officials including Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan and Information Minister Ataullah Tarar. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also joined the Pakistani delegation in Bishkek.
Shehbaz is additionally scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov covering trade and investment, energy, regional connectivity, education, tourism and people-to-people relations.
Pakistan-Uzbekistan Cooperation Discussed
On the sidelines of the summit, Dar met Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov, according to the Express report.
The two foreign ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the growing Pakistan-Uzbekistan partnership and discussed expanding cooperation across areas of mutual interest.
Uzbekistan had previously expressed support for Pakistan’s 2026-27 SCO chairmanship during President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s state visit to Islamabad in February.
Shehbaz also met Mirziyoyev in Bishkek before the summit, discussing trade, investment and regional connectivity. Pakistan highlighted the proposed Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan railway as an important potential link between Central and South Asia.
Pakistan Takes Chair Amid Regional Tensions
Pakistan assumes the chairmanship at a particularly sensitive moment for Eurasia.
The SCO includes major powers such as China, Russia and India as well as Iran, while its geographic reach extends across Central and South Asia. The Bishkek summit is also taking place amid renewed US-Iran tensions and continuing international concern over regional security.
Shehbaz met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the summit, where the two leaders discussed bilateral relations and the regional situation. Pakistan has stressed dialogue and diplomatic engagement as the preferred route to regional stability.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is also attending the Bishkek gathering as part of a visit to Kyrgyzstan before travelling to Egypt.
What Pakistan’s Chairmanship Means
Pakistan’s new role gives Islamabad an opportunity to shape the agenda and diplomatic priorities of the Council of Heads of State over the next year, coordinate preparations for meetings and host the organisation’s leaders in 2027.
It does not, however, mean Pakistan can independently determine SCO policy. Decisions within the organisation remain subject to its multilateral procedures and agreement among member states.
Pakistan has indicated that its priorities will include regional connectivity, economic cooperation, sustainable development and security, building on its existing SCO responsibilities.
The central development from Bishkek is therefore more precise than simply saying Pakistan has gained the “SCO presidency”: Pakistan is taking over the rotating chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State for 2026-27, with Islamabad set to host the organisation’s next leaders’ summit in 2027.
