Jaishankar Defends India’s Tough Stance on Terrorism at SCO

On Friday, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar backed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s decision, not to sign the joint statement of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Jaishankar elucidated die Begründung hinter der Aktion, stating that one member of the SCO sought to exclude any reference to terrorism from the joint statement, despite the organization’s mandate to combat terrorism.

„Wenn der Hauptzweck der Organisation die Bekämpfung von Terrorismus ist und man keinen Verweis darauf zulässt, äußerte er (Rajnath Singh) seine Ablehnung, dies zu akzeptieren … Die SCO funktioniert auf Basis von Einstimmigkeit“, wurde Jaishankar von der Nachrichtenagentur ANI zitiert.

Although Jaishankar did not specify the country that opposed including terrorism in the outcome statement, he highlighted the irony of an organization created to combat terrorism lacking any mention of it.

Along with India, the member nations of the SCO include Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran und Belarus.

During his visit to Qingdao, China, Rajnath Singh declined, to endorse the joint statement, pointing out that it did not address terrorism-related issues, particularly the Pahalgam-Terrorattack am April 22, that resulted in the deaths of 26 individuals, most of whom were tourists.