New Delhi [India], June 27 : External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday stated that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was right in not signing the joint document at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' meeting in China, as one country of the 10-member grouping did not want to make a reference to terrorism,. Jaishankar said the main objective of the organisation was to fight terror.
The Ministry of External Affairs had, in a statement yesterday, said that the Defence Ministers' meeting of SCO concluded without a joint statement due to a lack of consensus among member countries. "India advocated for the inclusion of terrorism concerns in the document, but one country objected. Defence Minister urged countries to unite against terrorism and hold perpetrators accountable, emphasising regional stability and security," it said.
When asked about the development at a press conference in the national capital, Jaishankar said, "Let me give you some context because I think it's important. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, its objective was to fight terrorism. This organisation exists to fight terrorism. When Rajnath Ji went for a defence ministers meeting and there was a discussion on the outcome document, one country. You can guess which one, one country said that no no, we do not want a reference to that."
"Rajnath Singh's view rightly was, without that reference, that when the main purpose of the organisation is to fight terrorism, and you are not allowing a reference to that, he expressed his unwillingness to accept... SCO runs with unanimity. One country did not agree for making reference to terrorism in the statement. So, Rajnath ji clearly said that if there is no mention of terrorism in the statement, we will not sign it," Jaishankar said.
India declined to sign the joint declaration at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in China on Thursday, which, according to sources, did not have any mention of the dastardly April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam but mentioned incidents in Pakistan.
According to government sources, Rajnath Singh did not sign the SCO document as India is not satisfied with the language of the joint document, as there was no mention of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, there was mention of the incidents that happened in Pakistan, so India refused to sign the joint declaration, and there is no joint communique either.
Addressing the SCO Defence Ministers' Meeting in China's Qingdao yesterday, Singh said that there should be no place for double standards regarding terrorism, and member countries of the bloc should not hesitate to criticise nations that indulge in such actions.
In his remarks at the meeting, Singh called on members of the grouping to take united and decisive action against terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in the possession of non-state actors and terrorist groups.
Without explicitly naming Pakistan, Singh noted that peace and prosperity cannot co-exist with terrorism. "I believe that the biggest challenges that we are facing in our region are related to peace, security and trust deficit. And the root cause of these problems is increasing radicalisation, extremism and terrorism, he said.
Singh said, "Peace and prosperity cannot co-exist with terrorism and proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) in the hands of non-state actors and terror groups. Dealing with these challenges requires decisive action, and we must unite in our fight against these evils for our collective safety and security."
Taking a veiled dig at Pakistan, Singh said, "Those who sponsor, nurture and utilise terrorism for their narrow and selfish ends must bear the consequences. Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of policy and provide shelter to terrorists. There should be no place for such double standards. SCO should not hesitate to criticise such nations."
Singh noted that the terror group 'The Resistance Front' (TRF) carried out a dastardly and heinous attack on innocent tourists at Pahalgam on April 22.
"26 innocent civilians, including a Nepali national, were killed. Victims were shot at after they were profiled based on their religious identity. The Resistance Front, which is a proxy of UN-designated terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) claimed responsibility for the attack," he said.
"The pattern of the Pahalgam terror attack matches with LeT's previous terror attacks in India. In exercising its right to defend against terrorism and pre-empt as well as deter further cross-border terrorist attacks, India on 7th May 2025 successfully launched Op Sindoor to dismantle cross-border terrorist infrastructure," he said.
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