Hold those aiding terror accountable, Rajnath Singh tells SCO defence ministers

Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday asked the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to work towards eliminating terrorism. Speaking at the defence ministers’ meeting of the grouping, he called for holding those aiding terror accountable, officials familiar with the matter said.

Singh’s Pakistani counterpart, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, who was supposed to attend the meeting virtually, skipped it. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s special assistant (defence) Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan virtually represented Pakistan from Islamabad.

Singh’s call for clamping down on terrorism came days after five soldiers were killed in a terrorist ambush in Jammu & Kashmir’s Rajouri on April 20 near the de factor border with Pakistan.

Addressing his SCO counterparts, Singh said any terrorist act or support to it is a crime against humanity, and peace and prosperity cannot coexist with the menace. “If a nation shelters terrorists, it not only poses a threat to others but to itself too,” Singh said, without naming Pakistan.

Addressing the Army Commanders’ Conference on April 19, Singh said that proxy war by the adversary was continuing. “Radicalisation of youth is a cause of concern not only from the point of view of security, but it is also a major obstacle in the path of socio-economic progress of society. If we want to make SCO a stronger and more credible international organisation, our top most priority should be to effectively deal with terrorism.”

India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are SCO’s member countries. Iran and Belarus are taking part in this year’s meeting as observers.

Singh on Thursday raised the issue of the lingering border row with China in eastern Ladakh with his Chinese counterpart General Li Shangfu. He stressed that the violation of existing agreements eroded bilateral relations, and the development of India-China ties was based on peace and tranquillity at the borders. He told Li that all issues at the Line of Actual Control should be resolved in accordance with existing bilateral agreements. India and China have been locked in a border row for almost three years.

On Friday, Singh said India envisions a robust framework of regional cooperation that mutually respects the “sovereignty and territorial integrity” of all member states by taking care of their legitimate interests. He said New Delhi strives to bolster trust and cooperation among the SCO members as it believes in maintaining peace and security based on the Charter of the United Nations.

He said India was committed to defence capacity building of SCO member states through training and co-manufacturing and co-development of military hardware, while stressing that security challenges were not limited to any single country. India is moving forward with a collaborative approach in the field of defence partnership while keeping shared interests in mind, he said.

Singh reiterated India’s commitment to playing the role of a first responder and preferred partner for any humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operation in the region. “Be it the Covid-19 pandemic or the recent earthquake in Turkiye, India has always moved forward in line with the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ [the world is one family],” he said.

In his opening remarks, Singh described the SCO as an “evolved and strong” regional organisation, while underlining that India views it as an important entity to promote defence cooperation among the member states.

At the end of the deliberations, the SCO countries signed a protocol, expressing their collective will to make the region secure, peaceful, and prosperous. “It is our moral responsibility to start a new journey of development in the region through mutual cooperation, harmony, and respect,” Singh said.

Defence secretary Giridhar Aramane said all the member nations reached a consensus on several areas of cooperation, including dealing with terrorism, security of vulnerable populations, and HADR activities. He said all members of the bloc were unanimous in their statements that terrorism in all its forms must be condemned and eliminated.