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Jaishankar reminds SCO of its ‘3 evils’ pitch, seeks uncompromising stand on terror
Jaishankar described the Pahalgam terror attack as a graphic example of terrorism, separatism and extremism
NEW DELHI: The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) should adopt an “uncompromising” position on combating terrorism and extremism, external affairs minister S Jaishankar told a meeting of the bloc on Tuesday, while reiterating India’s commitment to act against perpetrators and sponsors of terror.
Jaishankar, who was addressing a gathering that included his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar, said the Pahalgam terror attack in April was “deliberately conducted” to undermine the tourism-based economy of Jammu and Kashmir and to create a religious divide.
He also told the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Tianjin that the members of the grouping face the challenge of stabilising the global order and de-risking various dimensions of it amid considerable disorder, conflicts, competition and coercion.
Jaishankar noted that the SCO was founded to combat the “three evils” of terrorism, separatism and extremism, which often occur together. “It is imperative that the SCO, to remain true to its founding objectives, take an uncompromising position on this challenge,” he said in a lengthy social media post on his speech.
He described the Pahalgam terror attack as a graphic example of terrorism, separatism and extremism. “It was deliberately conducted to undermine the tourism economy of Jammu and Kashmir, while sowing a religious divide,” he said.
“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,” he added.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 to target terror infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack. This triggered four days of hostilities with Pakistan, which is currently a member of the UN Security Council.
Jaishankar’s remarks urging the SCO to take on an “uncompromising” position towards terrorism came against the backdrop of disquiet in India over China’s support for Pakistan during the recent hostilities. In the past, China has blocked efforts by India and its partners to sanction Pakistan-based terrorists at the UN Security Council.
Jaishankar said the SCO foreign ministers were meeting amid “considerable disorder in the international system”, with more conflicts, competition and coercion occurring in the last few years. “Economic instability is also visibly on the rise. The challenge before us is to stabilise the global order, de-risk various dimensions and through it all, address longstanding challenges that threaten our collective interests,” he said.
Jaishankar raised the situation in Afghanistan, which has been on the SCO’s agenda for a long time. “The compulsions of regional stability are buttressed by our longstanding concern for the well-being of the Afghan people. The international community, particularly SCO members, must therefore step up with development assistance. India, for its part, will certainly do so,” he said.
India will continue to positively approach new ideas and proposals at the SCO and has also taken several initiatives of its own in areas ranging from start-ups and innovation to digital public infrastructure. However, it is essential that such cooperation is “based on mutual respect, sovereign equality and in accordance with territorial integrity and sovereignty of member states”, he said.
His remarks were apparently a reference to China’s connectivity project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a key part of which passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Deepening collaboration within the SCO requires more trade, investment and exchanges, Jaishankar said. “For that to move to the next level, it is imperative that we address some current issues. One of them is the lack of assured transit within the SCO space,” he said.
This absence of transit arrangements “undermines the seriousness of advocating cooperation in economic areas”, he argued. The SCO members should also promote the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which Jaishankar said will continue to gather momentum.
The INSTC is a 7,200-km multi-mode transport project for moving freight among India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe. India has been supporting the project and has pushed for linking the INSTC to Iran’s Chabahar port, where an Indian state-run firm operates a terminal.
Jaishankar contended that the SCO’s ability to contribute to shaping world affairs will depend on the member states coming together on a shared agenda. “That means taking everybody on board,” he said.
“The world is today moving towards greater multi-polarity. This is not just in terms of redistribution of national capacities, but also the emergence of effective groupings like SCO,” he said.
