The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ Meeting, held in Qingdao, China, concluded on Thursday without the adoption of a joint statement. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that India wanted concerns on terrorism reflected in the final document, which was not acceptable to one particular country, therefore the statement was not adopted.
At the SCO meeting, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called for united global action against terrorism, radicalisation, and extremism, citing them as the biggest threats to regional peace and trust.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters at the weekly media briefing: “I understand that the Defence Ministers could not adopt a joint statement. Certain member countries could not reach consensus on specific issues, and hence the document could not be finalised. India wanted concerns on terrorism to be reflected in the statement, which was not acceptable to one particular country.”
He added that Rajnath Singh, in his address, urged all SCO member states to unite against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
“Raksha Mantri reiterated the importance of holding perpetrators, organisers, financers, and sponsors of terrorism—especially cross-border terrorism—accountable and bringing them to justice. He called on all SCO nations to act in unison to strengthen regional stability and security,” Jaiswal said.
During his speech, Singh also referred to the recent April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians, including a Nepali national. He said India had exercised its right to self-defence through Operation Sindoor, which targeted and dismantled cross-border terrorist infrastructure.
Reiterating India’s firm stance, Singh said that “epicentres of terrorism are no longer safe” and urged SCO nations to reject double standards and hold state sponsors of terrorism accountable.
“We must be in lockstep in our efforts to strengthen stability and security in our neighbourhood,” he asserted.
The two-day SCO meeting, hosted by China, concluded on Thursday and saw the participation of Defence Ministers from member countries including Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Singh’s visit to China came just over a month after Operation Sindoor, further underlining India’s security concerns and its zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism.
from National https://ift.tt/DlbyPAE