The Shanghai Cooperation Organization declaration issued today (Monday)reaffirms Pakistan’s position on terrorism, unequivocally condemning all forms and manifestations of this global menace.

The SCO emphasized that double standards in the fight against terrorism are unacceptable. It strongly condemned the attacks on the Jaffer Express and the school bus in Khuzdar.

The declaration called for comprehensive and effective measures to combat all dimensions of terrorism, including the cross-border movement of terrorists. Member states underscored the need for coordinated action against all terrorist organizations, in line with UN Security Council resolutions, the global counter-terrorism strategy, and the principles of the United Nations.

The SCO also stressed the importance of establishing an inclusive government in Afghanistan, with representation from all ethnic and political groups, to ensure lasting peace. It affirmed that every nation has the sovereign right to choose its own political, social, and economic path.

Furthermore, it declared that the use of terrorist groups for political or proxy objectives is unacceptable.

It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan has consistently presented credible evidence of cross-border facilitation of terrorism by India to the global community. India’s involvement in incidents like the Jaffer Express and the Khuzdar school bus attack has been substantiated with documented proof. In its April 24 statement, Pakistan’s National Security Committee offered India an independent investigation into the Pahalgam incident which remains unanswered by the Indian government to date.

Besides, Pakistan’s long-standing position on peace in Afghanistan aligns with the principles outlined in the SCO declaration. Pakistan has repeatedly shared evidence of cross-border terrorism, and the declaration has now brought further attention to this issue.

By endorsing Pakistan’s stance on terrorism and regional conflicts, the SCO declaration reflects the success of Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts.

As a result of its diplomatic efforts, Pakistan is emerging as a net regional stabilizer in the region.

Reiterating their deep concern over the continuing escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the member states strongly condemned the actions that have led to numerous casualties among the civilian population and a catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

The SCO declaration called for deepening cooperation in fighting drug trafficking. It also emphasized to continue efforts in fighting corruption and called on the international community to refuse to grant asylum to persons who have committed corruption offences.

The SCO member States called on promoting cooperation in the field of e-commerce, develop digital trade infrastructure, and bridge the gap between developed and developing countries in the digital economy. They also urged to increase cooperation in the field of veterinary and phytosanitary surveillance, ensuring the safety of agricultural and food products, promote the development of trade in agricultural products and strengthen international cooperation in combating epidemics and infections.

The declaration further said that the SCO member States will continue to strengthen cooperation in the fields of agriculture and food security, science and education, artificial intelligence, tourism, culture, health, sports, environment, and sustainable socio-economic development.

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Monday called on pharmaceutical companies to justify the success of their drugs intended to treat Covid.

He said there is disagreement on whether the drugs saved lives.

“With CDC being ripped apart over this question, I want the answer, and I want it NOW,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I have been shown information from Pfizer, and others, that is extraordinary, but they never seem to show those results to the public.”

In his post, Trump urged drug companies to be more transparent about their results to “clear up this MESS.”

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the latest round of Covid vaccines, but only for people at higher risk of severe illness. The three approved shots are made by Pfizer with German partner BioNTech, Moderna, and Novavax with Sanofi.

The president’s comments also come days after he fired Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez after she refused to resign. Four other top health officials at the CDC also announced they were quitting the agency last week, including Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

The leadership upheaval at the CDC follows a series of measures by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr to overhaul federal health agencies and change US immunisation policies. He has instituted mass firings, gutted a key government vaccine panel and canceled studies on mRNA shot technology.

In an email to agency staff on Thursday, Kennedy pledged to continue what he has described as a mission to restore trust to the agency, touting “significant progress” already.

Public health experts, physicians, researchers, as well as current and former CDC employees, have said that Kennedy’s approach as well as cuts to both spending and staff have already hobbled the agency, warning that matters will worsen if he is allowed to continue.

So far, Kenedy has faced relatively little resistance from the White House, and the president appears to have gone along with the push to oust Monarez. It was the White House that announced last this week that Trump fired her, even though the announcement was initially made by Kennedy’s Department of Health and Human Services.

But in the Monday post, Trump appears to be torn between Kennedy and his detractors. The president doesn’t appear to embrace Kennedy’s view that Covid vaccines were decidedly harmful.

Trump has previously touted the success of Operation Warp Speed, the government-backed effort to develop Covid countermeasures, including vaccines.

“I hope OPERATION WARP SPEED was as ‘BRILLIANT’ as many say it was. If not, we all want to know about it, and why???” he wrote of the initiative.

More than 800 people are dead and over 2,500 injured after an earthquake of magnitude 6 struck the rugged eastern region of Afghanistan, the region’s latest instance of increased seismic activity.

Here are previous such disasters of recent years in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region which lies at the intersection of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

2025

• A magnitude 5.6 quake hit Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region on August 27.
• A magnitude 5.2 earthquake hit Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region on August 19, at a depth of 186 km (115 miles).
• A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck central Pakistan on June 29, with its epicentre at a depth of 149 km (93 miles).
• A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck Pakistan on May 10, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said.
• Quakes of magnitude 5.6 and 5.8 hit the Hindu Kush and Afghanistan-Tajikistan border regions, on April 16 and 19, respectively.
• A magnitude 5 earthquake struck Pakistan on April 12, at a depth of 39 km (25 miles).
• Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi has been hit by several moderate or minor tremors in March and June.

2024

• A magnitude 5.5 earthquake hit the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on October 17.
• An earthquake of magnitude 5.75 struck Pakistan at a depth of 10 km (6 miles) on September 11.
• Earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 and 5.8 struck Pakistan between March 19 and March 20.
• An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 hit northwestern Kashmir on February 19.
• A magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on January 11.
• A magnitude 5 earthquake hit the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region on January 5.

2023

• An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 hit the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region on November 15.
• Many died as multiple earthquakes rattled Afghanistan in October.
• On August 6, an earthquake of magnitude 5.1 hit the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border.
• Earthquakes of magnitude 5.6 and 5.7 hit the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on May 3 and on August 5, respectively.
• An earthquake of magnitude 6.5 hit northern Afghanistan in late March, killing at least 13.
• A magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on January 5.

2022

• An earthquake of magnitude 4.3 hit southeastern Afghanistan on December 16.
• Over September 5 and 6, at least two earthquakes struck Afghanistan, with one killing at least eight.
• A magnitude 5.6 quake struck Pakistan’s southwestern region on August 1.
• A magnitude 6 earthquake in Afghanistan killed more than 1,000 people in June.
• A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on February 5.
• An earthquake of magnitude 5.6, at a depth of 30 km (19 miles), hit western Afghanistan on January 17.

2021

• At least 15 people were killed after an earthquake struck southern Pakistan on October 7.
• A magnitude 4.6 earthquake, at a depth of 17.6 km (11 miles), shook Afghanistan on May 19.