Tianjin Declaration mentions Pahalgam, not Pakistan

Pahalgam terror attack has been strongly condemned by the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), vindicating India’s tough stand on terrorism. The Tianjin Declaration, adopted at the end of the SCO summit hosted by China, has stressed that the perpetrators, organisers and sponsors of such attacks must be brought to justice. This is a significant diplomatic win for New Delhi, considering that the joint statement at the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in China two months ago had made no mention of the Pahalgam carnage. India had rightly refused to sign that document, which had instead taken note of militant activities in Pakistan’s strife-torn Balochistan. The 10-member SCO includes Pakistan as well as its close allies China and Turkiye, which had staunchly backed it during Operation Sindoor in May.

What’s disappointing for India is that the declaration stops short of naming Pakistan, which has been a notorious sponsor of cross-border terrorism for decades. Operation Mahadev, in which the security forces killed three terrorists on the outskirts of Srinagar on July 28, had buttressed the National Investigation Agency’s finding that the Pahalgam attackers were from Pakistan. However, the China-helmed SCO has chosen to overlook the obvious; moreover, it has made no reference to India’s retaliatory operation that targeted terror sites in Pakistan. An organisation that has reaffirmed its ‘firm commitment’ to the fight against terrorism should have lauded India’s measured, non-escalatory action.

It is apparent that Beijing won’t let the upswing in its ties with Delhi impact its time-tested relationship with Islamabad. No wonder the declaration has condemned terror strikes on Pakistani territory, including the Jaffer Express bombing and the Khuzdar attack, thus portraying a terror perpetrator as a victim. This is unacceptable to India, which has repeatedly said that there should be no double standards on terrorism. Despite this reversal, Delhi must continue to exert pressure on the SCO to hold nations that support cross-border terrorism accountable.