India Refuses to Endorse SCO Statement That Ignores Terrorism; Jaishankar Backs Rajnath’s Stand
I
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday strongly defended Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s decision to withhold India’s signature from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) joint communique, asserting that India cannot and will not compromise when it comes to the global fight against terrorism.
Speaking on the sidelines of a separate event, Jaishankar said that one of the member nations of the SCO had objected to including any reference to terrorism in the joint statement, even though the very foundation of the SCO was built on counter-terrorism cooperation.
Without naming the country, Jaishankar quipped, “You can guess which one,” in what was widely interpreted as a pointed reference to Pakistan.
“When the main objective of the organisation is to fight terrorism, and you deliberately seek to avoid acknowledging it, we are left with no option,” Jaishankar said, justifying Defence Minister Singh’s refusal to sign the statement during the defence ministers’ meeting held in Qingdao, China, on Thursday.
Rajnath Singh took a firm stand, stressing that India could not endorse any document that failed to acknowledge acts of terrorism, especially the recent Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, in which 26 people, most of them tourists, lost their lives.
“Unanimity is the operational principle in SCO. Rajnath ji conveyed that if terrorism is not even mentioned, India cannot be part of such an outcome,” Jaishankar said.
The SCO, which includes India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Belarus, failed to release a joint communique due to India’s principled objection.
The draft statement made no mention of the Pahalgam attack but included a reference to the Jaffar Express hijacking incident in Pakistan by the Balochistan Liberation Army on March 11, widely seen as Islamabad’s attempt to divert global attention and frame the narrative against India.
According to sources cited by PTI, Pakistan lobbied hard to ensure the inclusion of the Balochistan incident while blocking references to the Pahalgam attack.
In doing so, it not only ignored India’s concerns but sought to turn the statement into a political tool to advance its agenda.
India, however, stood its ground. “We will not accept double standards on terrorism. Some countries continue to use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of state policy and give shelter to terrorists.
The SCO must not shy away from identifying and condemning such behaviour,” Rajnath Singh said during his address in Qingdao, with Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun in attendance.
Singh also highlighted India’s robust response to terrorism through Operation Sindoor, a recent military initiative aimed at dismantling terror infrastructure across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the Pahalgam attack.
“The nature of the Pahalgam attack reflects the signature of Lashkar-e-Taiba. India’s zero tolerance policy on terrorism was not just declared—it was demonstrated,” he asserted.
While the SCO joint statement ignored both the Pahalgam killings and India’s firm stance on terrorism, Indian officials made it clear that New Delhi will not lend legitimacy to any multilateral process that overlooks its core national security interests.
“In the face of such selective silence and politically motivated objections, India cannot afford to bow down. Our commitment to countering terrorism is unwavering. If that means standing alone at the table, so be it,” said a senior government official.
India’s message was unmistakable: any platform that seeks to build consensus must do so based on truth, fairness, and respect for international norms, not by appeasing those who shield terrorism.
