ISLAMABAD, April 25. /TASS/. The flare-up of confrontation between Pakistan and India is poised to put pressure on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and risks undermining its unity, Akbar Shehryar Khan, research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies in Islamabad, told TASS.

"The developing confrontation is likely to put considerable pressure on the SCO, where both India and Pakistan are full members. As tensions escalate, each side could seek tacit diplomatic or moral support from partner states. Such polarization risks undermining the cohesion and neutrality of the SCO," he said.

According to Khan, Russia and China could "play a constructive role by facilitating dialogue through back-door channels or formal mediation."

"Such interaction would strengthen the SCO's credibility as a multilateral forum capable of resolving intra-bloc disputes through peaceful mechanisms," he said.

Gunmen opened fire in the town of Pahalgam in northern India on April 22, killing 25 Indians and one national of Nepal. The attackers were able to flee the scene.

The Times of India reported, citing intelligence sources, that the attack was the handiwork of the Resistance Front, a sabotage outfit of the Pakistan-based radical group Lashkar-e-Taiba (banned in Russia).