No Pahalgam reference, India refuses to sign SCO declaration on terrorism

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh refused to sign a proposed joint declaration on terrorism at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting at Qingdao, China, as it did not mention the Pahalgam terror attack. The joint declaration was finally not adopted.

A draft joint declaration on terrorism was discussed at the meeting. However, it did not reflect India’s position on countering terrorism, said sources. India accuses Pakistan of having masterminded, aided, abetted and financed the Pahalgam terror attack.

In New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “Member countries could not reach a consensus on certain issues and hence the document could not be finalised.”

“India wanted concerns on terrorism reflected in the document, which was not acceptable to a particular country. As such, the joint statement was not adopted,” Jaiswal said.

The sources said the SCO joint declaration proposed to mention the attack in Balochistan — the Jaffar Express hijacking in March — while China, the present Chair of the SCO, and its ally Pakistan wanted Pahalgam’s exclusion from the document. Rajnath and his delegation objected to it.

In the past, New Delhi has consistently trashed Pakistan’s allegations about its involvement in Balochistan.

Earlier, while making his remarks at the meeting, Rajnath, without naming Pakistan, said some countries “use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of policy and provide shelter to terrorists”.

Pakistan is a member of the SCO and it’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif was at the meeting. Sources in the Indian establishment said “there was no meeting between Rajnath and Asif”.

Rajnath said the SCO should not hesitate in criticising nations that “use terrorism as an instrument of policy”. “It is imperative that those who sponsor, nurture and utilise terrorism for their narrow and selfish ends must bear the consequences,” Rajnath said.

The minister said peace and prosperity could not co-exist with terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in the hands of non-state actors and terror groups.

Speaking about the Pahalgam terror attack, Rajnath said terror group The Resistance Front (TRF) carried out the dastardly and heinous attack on innocent tourists in Jammu and Kashmir. As many as 26 civilians were killed in it. The victims were shot after they were asked their religious identity. The TRF, a proxy of the UN-designated terror group LeT, claimed responsibility for the attack, the minister said.

The pattern of the Pahalgam attack matched with the LeT’s previous terror attacks in India. In exercising its right to defend itself against terrorism and pre-empt as well as deter further cross-border terrorist attacks, India on May 7 successfully launched Operation Sindoor to dismantle cross-border terrorist infrastructure.

Established in 2001, the SCO aims to promote regional stability through cooperation. The bloc currently has 10 member states — Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

No meeting between Indian, Pak defence ministers

• Pakistan is a member of the SCO and it’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif was at the meeting

• Sources in the Indian establishment said “there was no meeting between Rajnath and Asif”

Statement not adopted

"India wanted concerns on terrorism reflected in the document, which was not acceptable to a particular country. As such, the joint statement was not adopted," Randhir Jaiswal, MEA spokesperson