Rajnath Singh at SCO Summit in China (Photo: MoD)
New Delhi: The defence minister, Rajnath Singh, refused to sign a joint statement of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Qingdao, China. It has been learned that Singh found no mention of the gruesome Pahalgam terror attack in the joint statement, but the statement condemned terror attacks in Pakistan’s Balochistan.
On Thursday, Singh attacked Pakistan and said the SCO bloc should not hesitate to criticize nations harbouring terrorists. Without naming Islamabad, Singh accused the neighbouring country of backing cross-border terrorism.
“Pakistan and China trying to divert the attention from terrorism,” officials in the defence ministry said, reflecting India’s thoughts on this matters,.
The SCO meeting then decided to drop the declaration altogether.
Taking aim without naming Pakistan directly, Singh stated, “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. The SCO should not hesitate to criticise such nations.”
He further noted that the pattern of the Pahalgam attack closely resembled previous strikes carried out by the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in India.
Emphasizing the need for a firm response, he said India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 to defend itself and send a strong message against cross-border terrorism, as he once again called out Pakistan.
China is hosting the two-day SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting from June 25 to 26 in the eastern city of Qingdao.
The gathering brings together defence ministers and senior officials from all ten full member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and the newest member, Belarus.
Held under China's 2025 chairmanship, the meeting follows the theme “Upholding the Shanghai Spirit: SCO on the Move.”
He is also expected to hold bilateral talks with his Chinese and Russian counterparts on the sidelines to discuss border security, regional defence cooperation, and joint efforts in counter-terrorism.
