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Informist, Thursday, Jun. 26, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday refused to sign the joint statement issued at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Defence Ministers' meeting in Qingdao, China, as it did not mention the Apr. 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 26 people were killed. The statement mentioned militant activities in Balochistan, for which Pakistan consistently accused India. India, though, trashed Pakistan's claims.

 

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is an inter-governmental organisation established in 2001. Its members include Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Belarus, besides India. China has assumed the Chair of the SCO for 2025. 

 

Referring to Pakistan, Singh asserted that some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of policy and provide shelter to terrorists, the defence ministry said in a release. He said the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation should not hesitate to criticise such nations. "There should be no place for such double standards. It is imperative that those who sponsor, nurture and utilise terrorism for their narrow and selfish ends must bear the consequences," Singh said, as per the release.

 

The defence minister asserted that India launched Operation Sindoor in response to the heinous terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, exercising its right to defend against terrorism and pre-empt as well as deter further cross-border attacks. "During the Pahalgam terror attack, victims were shot after they were profiled on religious identity. The Resistance Front, a proxy of United Nations-designated terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba claimed responsibility for the attack. India's zero tolerance for terrorism was demonstrated through its actions. We have shown that epicentres of terrorism are no longer safe, and we will not hesitate to target them," he said.

 

Singh reiterated the need to hold accountable the perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of reprehensible acts of terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, and bring them to justice. He termed acts of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivations, and committed whenever, wherever and by whomsoever.

 

"SCO members must condemn this evil unequivocally," he said, reaffirming India's resolve to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

 

Singh underscored the importance of countering the technology used by terrorists such as drones for cross-border smuggling of weapons and drugs. He pointed out that traditional borders are no longer the sole barriers against threats in today's interconnected world.

 

Highlighting the organisation's crucial role in the current uncertain geopolitical scenario, Singh said the member countries contribute around 30% of the global GDP and about 40% of the world's population resides in them. He described the creation of a safe, secure and stable region as a collective stake, which can contribute towards progress and improvement of peoples' lives, the release said.  End

 

 

Reported by Kuldeep Singh

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

 

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