'One country didn't want terror reference': Jaishankar on SCO communique

Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the main purpose of the SCO is to fight against terrorism, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was right not to accept the joint communique

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Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said that India chose not to sign the outcome document of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defence ministers’ meeting because one country objected to including a reference to terrorism.

 

During a press conference, Jaishankar said that the main purpose of the SCO is to fight against terrorism, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was right to accept or not accept it without reference to it.

 

"The SCO was formed with the objective of fighting terrorism. When Rajnath Singh went to the meeting and there was a discussion on the outcome document, one country said they do not want a reference to that. Rajnath Singh's view rightly was, without that reference, that 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... So Rajnath ji clearly said that if there is no mention of terrorism in the statement, we will not sign it," Jaishankar said.

 

 

SCO is a 10-member organisation which works on unanimity. The organisation includes Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Belarus.

 

Rajnath Singh refuses to sign SCO joint communique 

 

This comes a day after Rajanth Singh refused to sign a joint communique at the SCO meeting in Qingdao, China, because of its omission of the Pahalgam terror attack and the failure to directly address India’s concerns about Pakistan-backed cross-border terrorism.

 

At the SCO defence ministers' meeting, Rajnath Singh strongly criticised nations using cross-border terrorism as state policy — without naming Pakistan. He called on SCO members to reject double standards and stand united against terrorism and WMDs in the hands of non-state actors.

 

“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,” he said, referencing the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 civilians were killed.

 

(With agency inputs)