Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday called upon the regional countries to “resist any drift towards bloc politics” and stressed pursuing the approach of peaceful coexistence.

“Peaceful coexistence and cooperation – not confrontation, should be the main drivers of global politics,” he said in his address at the 20th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State meeting, held in the capital of Tajikistan.

The summit gathered the Presidents of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Iran, the leaders of observer states, foreign ministers, and the heads of international and regional organizations.

Vladimir Norov, SCO Secretary General and Jumakhon Giyasov, Director Executive Committee of SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure were also present.

The prime minister said addressing the threats to international and regional peace and security was a vital interest for SCO.

He said the fight against terror would not be won if such threats and challenges were ignored, with state-terrorism being the biggest one, perpetrated against people living under foreign occupation in disputed territories.

“In some cases, such extremist and bigoted ideologies have ascended to capture the state power in so-called democracies,” he said.

Imran Khan said Pakistan believed that faithfully implementing UN Security Council resolutions for peaceful settlement of outstanding disputes was a necessary condition for peace, and indispensible for creating an environment of cooperation.