External affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday urged the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to remain true to its founding objectives to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism by adopting an uncompromising position
on terror.
Flagging the Pahalgam attack while addressing the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Tianjin, China, Jaishankar said: “It was deliberately conducted to undermine the tourism economy of Jammu and Kashmir, while sowing a religious divide. The UN Security Council, of which some of us are currently members, issued a statement that condemned it in the strongest terms and ‘underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice’.
“We have since done exactly that and will continue doing so. It is imperative that the SCO, to remain true to its founding objectives, take an uncompromising position on this challenge.”
Pakistan, too, brought up Pahalgam with foreign minister Ishaq Dar saying: “It is most unfortunate that the attribution of the Pahalgam attack to Pakistan — without a credible investigation or verifiable evidence — brought the two nuclear armed states to the brink of a major conflict. In the wake of mounting tensions, Pakistan’s restrained and responsible approach was met with legal transgressions, rhetorical belligerence and strategic recklessness.”
Dar also made out a case for initiation of a comprehensive and structured dialogue “to address the full spectrum of issues that have long bedevilled peace and security in South Asia”.
Pointing out that the ministers were meeting at a time of “considerable disorder in the
international system”, Jaishankar stressed the need to “stabilise the global order, de-risk various dimensions and through it all, address longstanding challenges that threaten our collective interests”.
On connectivity, he lamented the absence of assured transit within the SCO space, stating that this undermines the seriousness of advocating cooperation in economic areas.
