Must stand strong against terror, EAM tells SCO, cites UN backing
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday justified India’s response to the terror attack at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir and added that New Delhi will continue doing what it did in the aftermath of the attack.
The minister was addressing a meeting of the multi-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers in Tianjin, China. He cited a UN Security Council statement that condemned the Pahalgam attack and “underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice.” He added, “We have since done exactly that and will continue doing so.” Pakistan and China are members of the SCO.
Jaishankar said the Pahalgam attack was “deliberately conducted” to undermine the tourism economy of Jammu and Kashmir and sow a religious divide. He called on the SCO to remain true to its founding objective of combating terrorism and extremism and to take an “uncompromising” position on such challenges. Jaishankar reminded the gathering, “The three evils that the SCO was founded to combat were terrorism, separatism and extremism. Not surprisingly, they often occur together. Recently, we in India witnessed a graphic example in the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22.”
His comments come amid some disquiet in New Delhi over Beijing’s tacit support to Islamabad during Operation Sindoor, as well as instances where China has blocked efforts at the UN Security Council to sanction Pakistan-based terrorists.
The SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting did not yield a joint declaration. Sources in India noted that the last five annual meetings of SCO Foreign Ministers have also not produced joint declarations. Separately, last month, the SCO Defence Ministers also failed to agree on a joint declaration, as Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh did not approve a draft that omitted a reference to Pakistan.
Jaishankar also urged the grouping to enhance development assistance to Afghanistan. “Afghanistan has been long on the SCO agenda. The compulsions of regional stability are buttressed by our longstanding concern for the well-being of the Afghan people,” he said.
The minister added that there was no assured transit within SCO countries and its absence undermined the seriousness of advocating cooperation in economic areas. He emphasised the need to promote the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
The INSTC is a 7,200-km-long multi-modal transport project for moving freight among India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe. India has consistently supported the project.
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