A spokesperson from the Supreme Court said that the Pakistani delegation, including the head of the country’s Supreme Court, Umar Ata Bandial,  no showed  the  Shanghai Cooperation Organization(SCO)’s 18th meeting of chief prosecutors of  member countries on Friday, March 10, 2023.

It has been brought to light that the  delegates actively showed their intention to be a part of the three-day meeting in practice, requesting the link to virtually join the convention.

The Supreme Court of India will play the host of the event scheduled on March 10-12 in the national capital, Delhi.

 Worth noting,  The Supreme Court sources told The Indian Express that delegations from China and Russia had confirmed they would attend the event, but the Pakistani delegation had canceled, initially. However on Friday morning, the sources revealed that they had been contacted by their Pakistani counterparts for a request, the latter asking for a virtual link to join the event, on short notice.

 The Indian side is to be led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Supreme Court judges Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph.

 CJI Chandrachud is set to talk on ‘Smart Courts’ and the future of the judiciary, while Justice Kaul will focus his address on facilitating access to justice. Finally, last of the trio, Justice Joseph will address the gathering on institutional challenges facing the judiciary. 

 Furthermore, it has been revealed through an official directive note that the programmes will involve a joint interaction with the Chief Justices/chairpersons/judges from the member/observer states and representatives from SCO Secretariat and SCO RATS (Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure), concluding with the signing of a joint statement.

The first ever SCO meeting was held on September 22, 2006 in Shanghai. In September 2022, India assumed the  presidency of the SCO for one year in 2023, with the 18th session being held in New Delhi.