ISLAMABAD (AP) — Officials from an international security group founded to counter Western alliances met in Pakistan's capital on Wednesday to discuss how to boost security cooperation and economic ties.

The meeting of the heads of the council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization began with opening remarks from the host country's leader, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose government is struggling against insurgencies and one of the country's worst economic crises.

SCO was founded in 2001 by China and Russia to counter Western alliances. Other members include Iran, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Sharif thanked the guests for attending, saying “your presence here today underscores our shared commitment to fulfilling the aspirations of our people to ensure collective security and to enhance mutually beneficial cooperation for sustainable development and prosperity of the SCO region.”

Sharif also called for a peaceful Afghanistan, and said its soil should not be used for violence against any country.

Sharif's remarks came amid a surge in violence for which Pakistan blames the militants who are based in Afghanistan. However, Kabul has denied the charge, with Afghanistan's Taliban government saying it does not allow anyone to use its soil for violence against any country, including Pakistan.

Pakistan deployed troops and additional police in Islamabad to ensure security during the SCO meeting. The measures virtually locked down the capital, making it difficult even for ambulances to pass through.

The SCO meetings came more than a week after two Chinese engineers were killed in a suicide bombing outside the airport in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province.

An outlawed separatist group, which opposes Chinese-funded projects in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack. Thousands of Chinese are currently working on projects related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a global endeavor aimed at reconstituting the Silk Road and linking China to all corners of Asia.

In Pakistan, it has been billed as a massive development program that will bring new prosperity to the South Asian nation.

Among those attending the SCO meeting were Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and the prime ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Mongolia.

Sharif said the next meeting of SCO will be held in Russia in 2025.

Authorities were expected to release a joint statement later Wednesday,