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The article discusses the participation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the influence of the organization as the main factor of regional cooperation in today's context. Today Pakistan considers membership in the SCO as a cornerstone of its regional policy. Participation in the Shanghai organization allows Islamabad to strengthen its international position, facilitate the realization of geostrategic and geo-economic potential, develop relations with the Russian Federation, People's Republic of China, Central Asian countries, strengthen its positions in the field of regional security, and also "restrain" its traditional opponent – India. The effectiveness of the Shanghai organization in a new format is studied. The expansion of the SCO through the accession of Pakistan and India has turned the organization into one of the main instruments of multilateral cooperation. It began to be perceived as the Asian counterpart of the G7 group, which could become a new center of power of global importance. Pakistan and India have changed the balance of power within the organization, and the contradictions between Islamabad and Delhi, as well as between Delhi and Beijing, may reduce the effectiveness of the Shanghai organization in a new format. Finally, the article discusses promising areas of cooperation between Pakistan and the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Islamabad is counting on strengthening cooperation with the countries of the Shanghai organization, enhancing the effectiveness of a regional approach to the problems of terrorism and extremism, making its contribution to regional development, security and stability, and informing about its point of view on regional issues. Islamabad is counting also on more active involvement of the Shanghai organization in resolving the problem in Afghanistan with the participation of Russia, China and the states of Central Asia. In economic terms, for Pakistan the Shanghai Organization is the main platform for promoting its interests in the energy and transport and communications sectors. Among its most important goals in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Islamabad considers gaining access to the energy resources of Central Asian countries for consumption and transit, as well as providing the Shanghai Organization with its territory for access to the World Ocean, the Middle East, and South and Southeast Asia.