Pakistan hosts a major security meeting this week as it struggles against rising insurgent violence

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan is hosting a major security meeting this week, with senior leaders from longtime ally China and archrival India among those attending.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was established in 2001 by China and Russia to discuss security concerns in Central Asia and the wider region.

But it’s Pakistan’s own security that is under the microscope.

An attack on a foreign ambassadors’ convoy, violent protests by supporters of an imprisoned former prime minister, and a bombing outside Pakistan’s biggest airport are signs the country is struggling to contain multiplying threats from insurgents.

The meeting, which begins Tuesday in Islamabad, comes at a crucial time for the government. Here’s why:

Armed groups are outpacing the army

Pakistan says it has foiled attacks through intelligence-based operations and preventative measures. It frequently vows “to root out terrorism.”

But the frequency and scale of the recent violence give the impression that the government isn’t in control and raises questions about its ability to protect key sites and foreigners, let alone Pakistanis.

In the last few weeks, separatists from Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province have killed Chinese nationals in Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city, as well as more than 20 miners in an attack on housing at a coal mine, and seven workers in another attack. The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, or BLA, is better at mobilizing fighters in different areas and its operational capabilities have increased.

The group wants independence for the province. It’s not interested in overthrowing the state to establish a caliphate, which is what the Pakistani Taliban want. But the two groups have a common enemy — the government.

Analysts have said the