Rakha Mantri Rajnath Singh on Thursday refused to sign the draft statement at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting
In an action underlining India’s strong stance on the issue, Rakha Mantri Rajnath Singh on Thursday refused to sign the draft statement at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting.
The document omitted the reference to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 but mentioned the Jaffar Express hijacking in Pakistan’s Balochistan. India accuses Pakistan of having masterminded, aided and abetted the Pahalgam terror attack and equivocally trashes allegations about any involvement in Balochistan.
The RM’s refusing to sign the SCO draft document was a significant development as no joint statement emerged from this year’s SCO meeting.
Those familiar with the recent happenings saw it as a proof of India’s sustained stance ‘no compromise on terrorism’ and also of increasing proximity between China and Pakistan.
China is the present Chair of the SCO
Basically SCO comprises 10 countries, including India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Belarus.
Pakistan is a major ally of China.
Beijing also provided aid to Pakistan in the recent military confrontation with India. Pahalgam’s exclusion from the document seemed to have been done at Pakistan’s behest, said analysts.
Earlier, in his speech at the SCO, the RM had spoken about the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22 and Operation Sindoor. He also said that 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.
“During the Pahalgam terror attack, victims were shot after they were profiled on religious identity. The Resistance Front, a proxy of UN-designated terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) claimed responsibility for the attack. The pattern of Pahalgam attack matches with LeT’s previous terror attacks in India. India’s zero tolerance for terrorism was demonstrated through its actions,” he said.
However, the SCO draft statement did not mention Pahalgam but talked about the train hijacking in Balochistan
According to MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “India wanted concerns on terrorism to be reflected in the document, which was not acceptable to one particular country, and therefore, the statement was not adopted,” in an apparent reference to Pakistan, China’s new best friend.
