New Delhi: India reiterated its stance against terrorism at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, urging the international community to isolate countries that provide “safe havens” for terrorists.
The 10-member Shanghai Cooperation Organisation also agreed in the joint Astana declaration to “seek consensus on the adoption within the UN of a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism as an important contribution to the existing base of universal international counter-terrorism instruments”.
India had first proposed a draft anti-terrorism convention in 1996, but it has remained frozen due to inability of the international community to primarily reach a definition for ‘terrorism’.
Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar delivered Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks at two sessions of the SCO summit on Thursday in Kazakhstan. Modi was the only absentee among the heads of states which included Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, ostensibly due to the parliamentary session.
India had been the chair of the SCO in 2023, but had turned the planned summit in Delhi into a virtual one at the last minute.
In the written speech of Modi, India asserted that the priority of SCO must be given to combating terrorism, describing it as one of the “original goals” of the grouping.
“Terrorism in any form or manifestation cannot be justified or condoned. International community must isolate and expose those countries that harbour terrorists, provide safe havens and condone terrorism. Cross-border terrorism requires a decisive response and terrorism financing, and recruitment must be resolutely countered,” it said.
The SCO member states reiterated that “double standards” are unacceptable in the fight against terrorism.
India typically uses the term ‘double standards’ to criticize China’s role in blocking the listing of Pakistan-based terrorists under the UNSC sanctions regime. At the same time, China has also employed the phrase in response to Pakistan’s allegations that India is funding terror organizations in Balochistan.
For India, the SCO, with its membership including Central Asian countries and Russia, has been crucial in shaping policy towards war-torn Afghanistan.
The Astana declaration reiterated that “formation of an inclusive government with broad participation of representatives of all ethno-political groups of Afghan society is the only way to achieve lasting peace and stability in that country”.
Tajikistan, which has strained relations with the Taliban regime in Kabul, proposed the creation of a “security belt” around Afghanistan at the SCO. The Tajik government continues to host several members of the former Islamic Republic government, while still maintaining economic and energy ties with Afghanistan.
As in previous years, India remained the only country at the SCO not to endorse China’s Belt and Road Initiative. For the second consecutive year, New Delhi also chose not to participate in the SCO Economic Development Strategy, a brainchild of China.
With the SCO meeting being held for the first time since the start of Israel-Hamas war, the group “strongly condemn[ed] the actions that have led to numerous civilian casualties and a catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip”. As the language was ambiguous, it could arguably be interpreted to refer to both the Hamas terror attack on October 7 and the ongoing military operations by Israel in Gaza.
Just like the previous year, the ongoing Ukraine war was not mentioned in the Joint Declaration, which underscored member states’ affirmation of principles such as territorial integrity, condemned use of force, and supported conflict resolutions through peaceful means.
