Defence Minister refuses to sign SCO statement over lack of focus on cross-border terrorism

New Delhi, Jun 26: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chose not to sign a joint statement at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defence ministers' meeting on Thursday in Qingdao, China, as the document did not directly address India’s concerns about cross-border terrorism supported by Pakistan, PTI reported.

Explaining India’s position, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters at a press briefing on Thursday in New Delhi: “The Defence Minister's meeting has concluded. I understand that they could not adopt a Joint Statement. I also understand that certain member countries could not reach consensus on certain issues and hence the document could not be finalised. On our side, India wanted concerns on terrorism reflected in the document, which was not acceptable to one particular country, and therefore the statement was not adopted.”

He added that Rajnath Singh had clearly stated India’s stand on terrorism during the meeting: “Raksha Mantri in his articulation in his address called upon the SCO member countries to come together, unite to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations… He also reiterated the need to uphold the perpetrators, organisers, financiers, sponsors of reprehensible acts of terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, there to be held accountable and bring them to justice.”

Randhir Jaiswal further said: “He also urged all SCO members; he said that we must all be in lockstep in our endeavour in strengthening stability and security in our neighbourhood.”

Rajnath Singh insisted that there should be "no double standards" in combating terrorism and urged the SCO member nations to condemn the menace with unity. SCO  comprises China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

India has repeatedly pushed the SCO to take a firm stand against terrorism. However, one member country, widely understood to be Pakistan, reportedly opposed any specific mention of cross-border terror, leading to a deadlock in adopting the joint declaration.