Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday called for a united and uncompromising front against terrorism, radicalism and extremism, saying the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) should act firmly against states that shelter and support terrorists.
Addressing the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in Bishkek, Singh said terrorism remained “the most serious threat to the emerging world order” and urged member nations to reject double standards in dealing with the challenge.
Referring to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Singh said the incident had “shaken humanity” and underlined the need for collective resolve against terrorism. He said India’s response through Operation Sindoor demonstrated that “terror epicentres are no longer immune to justifiable punishment.”
Calling counter-terrorism a foundational principle of the SCO, Singh said the grouping must strengthen cooperation to eliminate safe havens and tackle what he described as state-sponsored cross-border terrorism that threatens the sovereignty of nations. He also cited the Tianjin Declaration and the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure as examples of the bloc’s shared commitment against terrorism.
Against the backdrop of global conflicts and growing unilateralism, the defence minister said the world was facing “unprecedented crises” and called for dialogue and diplomacy over confrontation. Stressing the need to uphold a rules-based international order, he said “the real crisis today is not of a non-existent order but a tendency to question the established rule-based world order,” and urged nations to move towards consensus and cooperation instead of allowing differences to escalate into conflict.
Singh said the SCO, representing a significant share of the world’s population, had a responsibility to contribute to regional and global peace, and stressed that defence cooperation among members should be deepened through trust and mutual understanding.
Invoking the Indian philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, or “the world is one family,” Singh said India remained committed to contributing constructively to the SCO’s mandate and called for the grouping to emerge as “a beacon of hope and peace”.
Further, the defence minister urged the SCO to act as “a consistent guardian of international standards” and said tackling terrorism, separatism and extremism without exception was essential to transforming regional security into a foundation for peace and prosperity.
The SCO is an intern-governmental organisation established on June 15, 2001 in Shanghai, China. Its membership includes India, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Belarus. India became a full member in 2017 and assumed the rotating chairmanship in 2023.
