Kashmir’s bloodstained meadows: Can the SCO show a road to reconciliation?
On April 22, 2025, the idyllic meadows of Pahalgam in Kashmir turned into a killing field. Twenty-six tourists—fathers, sons, dreamers—were gunned down by militants claiming allegiance to the Resistance Front, a shadowy group India links to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. India retaliated by suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, a lifeline for Pakistan's agriculture, while Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian flights and expelled diplomats. Nuclear arsenals loom; rhetoric hardens. Yet, amid this storm, a fragile olive branch emerges: Iran, reeling from its own tragedy—a port explosion in Hormozgan that killed at least 28 and injured 800—still urges dialogue, quoting 13th-century Persian poet Saadi, "Human beings are limbs of one body / Created from the same essence."
Iran's dual crucible: Grief and mediation
Even as Iran mourns its dead in Shahid Rajaee Port, its leaders insist on peace. President Masoud Pezeshkian's calls to Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif were not mere diplomacy but a testament to Tehran's belief in Tadamun (solidarity), a philosophy rooted in Persian Sufism and the shared trauma of terrorism. Iran's offer to mediate is strategic: it shares a 909-km border with Pakistan, supplies 10 percent of India's oil, and understands the cost of isolation after decades of sanctions. This duality—grief at home, hope abroad—reveals a truth: South Asia's survival hinges on transcending the zero-sum logic of power politics.
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The SCO: A stage for reluctant partners
For Bangladeshi readers unfamiliar with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), this 10-nation bloc—China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, and Central Asian states—is no ordinary alliance. Born in 2001 to combat terrorism and foster economic ties, the SCO today represents 40 percent of humanity. Its "Shanghai Spirit" prioritises mutual trust, equality, and non-interference—principles starkly absent in South Asia's zero-sum rivalries. Unlike SAARC, paralysed by India-Pakistan feuds, the SCO has quietly hosted leaders from both nations at summits where dialogue persists even as bombs threaten to fall.
Among its quiet successes is the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), a Tashkent-based hub where Indian and Pakistani officials share intelligence on extremist groups, even as their governments trade accusations. Equally significant is the SCO's role in fostering economic pragmatism. Despite bilateral trade collapsing to near zero in 2019, India and Pakistan collaborate on SCO-backed projects like the TAPI gas pipeline, a $10 billion initiative to connect Turkmenistan's energy fields to South Asia. At the 2024 SCO summit in Islamabad, India's external affairs minister met Pakistani leaders informally—a thaw unthinkable in SAARC's gridlocked halls.
The SCO is no utopia. It lacks NATO's binding commitments or the EU's economic integration. Yet, its flexibility allows rivals to engage without losing face—a vital feature for South Asia's fractured geopolitics.
Araghchi's gambit: Iran as mediator, SCO as stage
Abbas Araghchi's offer is no diplomatic platitude. A veteran of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), he understands the cost of isolation—having weathered Western sanctions—and champions the SCO's vision of a multipolar world free from unilateral coercion.
Culturally, Araghchi's invocation of Saadi resonates deeply in a region where Persian poetry and Sufi shrines bind Iran to both nations. This shared heritage, overshadowed by modern animosity, offers a foundation for dialogue. The SCO amplifies this outreach. At the 2024 Astana Summit, members condemned unilateral sanctions and pushed for trade in local currencies—a direct challenge to US financial hegemony. For India and Pakistan, this shared interest in strategic autonomy could incentivise compromise. Imagine SCO-led talks restoring the Indus Waters Treaty, with China and Russia guaranteeing compliance—a win for regional stability and the bloc's credibility.
Bangladesh's stake: Why peace in Kashmir matters here
Bangladesh, though not an SCO member, has a profound stake in this détente. Our rivers, remittances, and regional trade are entwined with India and Pakistan's stability. The Ganges and Brahmaputra, fed by Himalayan glaciers, bind our fate to India and Pakistan's water wars. A conflict between the two would disrupt regional supply chains, spiking inflation in Dhaka's markets. The World Bank estimates that South Asia loses $80 billion annually due to trade barriers—funds that could uplift 500 million people from poverty.
The climate crisis further binds our fates. Himalayan glaciers feed the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Indus. Their accelerated melting—a crisis demanding joint action—is drowned out by gunfire. Bangladesh's own liberation in 1971, forged through bloodshed, compels us to champion dialogue over destruction. As The Daily Star editorialises, "Restraint is not weakness—it is the courage to choose humanity over hubris."
Despite bilateral trade collapsing to near zero in 2019, India and Pakistan collaborate on SCO-backed projects like the TAPI gas pipeline, a $10 billion initiative to connect Turkmenistan's energy fields to South Asia. At the 2024 SCO summit in Islamabad, India's external affairs minister met Pakistani leaders informally—a thaw unthinkable in SAARC's gridlocked halls.
Beyond realism: A blueprint for SCO-driven peace
To escape Mearsheimer's "tragedy," South Asia must redefine security through the SCO's lens. First, reviving the Indus Waters Treaty with SCO guarantees could turn water from a weapon into a shared resource. China, as an upstream power and SCO heavyweight, could broker a new agreement monitored by RATS. Second, expanding the SCO's "Peace Mission" exercises to include joint India-Pakistan counterterrorism drills could build trust, mirroring ASEAN's maritime cooperation in the South China Sea.
Third, Bangladesh could advocate extending China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to include cross-border energy grids, easing regional disputes over resources. Fourth, amplifying Track-II diplomacy through the SCO's proposed Civil Society Forum could host Bangladeshi NGOs, artists, and peace activists, bypassing state hostility to foster grassroots dialogue. Finally, the climate crisis—a common enemy threatening 75 percent of South Asians—demands a joint adaptation fund under SCO auspices, a survival imperative transcending borders.
Writing a new destiny, together
South Asia holds the pen to rewrite its destiny. As Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz implored, "Bol, ke lab azaad hai tere…" ("Speak, for your lips are free"). The Kashmir attack is a tragedy, but not an inevitability. History whispers alternatives: France and Germany, once archenemies, now anchor the EU. ASEAN turned Southeast Asia from a war zone into an economic bloc. South Asia, with its youthful vigour and civilisational depth, can do the same—if we let the SCO guide us.
Bangladesh must add its voice to this chorus. Let us urge Delhi and Islamabad to embrace Araghchi's offer, to meet in SCO halls where poetry outweighs posturing. Let us demand that rivers flow not with blood, but with shared resolve.
The audacity of hope
As Iran mourned in Hormozgan, its leaders echoed Rumi, "Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." South Asia stands at that field. Let Delhi and Islamabad meet there—not with tanks, but with the SCO as witness. The hour is late, but the path is clear. Peace is not a distant dream—it is a choice.
Zakir Kibria is a writer and policy analyst. He can be reached at [email protected].
Views expressed in this article are the author's own.
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