Different Interests

A FORCE Report

Rajnath Singh urges SCO to unite against terrorism; meets defence ministers of Russia and China

Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ Meeting at Qingdao, China, on June 26, Rajnath Singh called upon the member countries to unite in eliminating terrorism for collective safety and security, as according to him, the biggest challenges faced by the region were related to peace, security and trust-deficit, with increasing radicalisation, extremism and terrorism being the root cause of these problems. In the audience were defence ministers of the participating nations, SCO Secretary General, Director Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) of SCO and other delegates.

“Peace and prosperity cannot co-exist with terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of non-state actors and terror groups. Dealing with these challenges requires decisive action. It is imperative that those who sponsor, nurture and utilise terrorism for their narrow and selfish ends must bear the consequences. 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. SCO should not hesitate to criticise such nations,” he said.

Referring to Operation Sindoor, Singh said that it was in response to the heinous terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir. India exercised its right to defend itself against terrorism and pre-empt as well as deter further cross border attacks, he asserted. “During the Pahalgam terror attack, victims were shot after they were profiled on religious identity. The Resistance Front, a proxy of UN-desig