India refuses to sign SCO communique over exclusion of Pahalgam terror attack

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday refused to sign a joint communique of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) following the omission of the Pahalgam terror attack and not explicitly addressing India's concerns over Pakistan-backed crossborder terrorism.

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At a conference of SCO defence ministers' conclave, Singh demanded inclusion of the dastardly terror attack in the communique while the Pakistani side pressed for having a paragraph on militant activities in Balochistan in an apparent attempt to blame New Delhi, sources said.

The SCO operates under the framework of consensus and Pakistan's approach resulted in the conclave ending without the joint communique, they said.

The draft communique neither figured the dastardly Pahalgam terror attack nor reflected India's position on cross-border terrorism, and it would have diluted New Delhi's position on a critical issue, they said.

In his address at the conclave, Singh took a swipe at Pakistan for backing terrorist groups, as he called for holding accountable the "perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors" of terrorism, including cross-border terrorism.

Highlighting India's Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam strike, the defence minister, who arrived here on Wednesday, said "epicentres of terrorism are no longer safe and we will not hesitate to target them." "Some countries use crossborder 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 said.

Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun were among those who attended the conclave.