Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has stressed 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. He called for decisive action to deal with the challenges posed by radicalization, extremism and terrorism. He said this while attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting at Qingdao in China today.

Referring to the Pahalgam terror attack, Mr Singh said, the pattern of this attack matches with Lashkar-e-Taiba previous terror attacks in India. He said, India launched Operation Sindoor to exercise its right to defend against terrorism and deter cross-border terrorist attacks by dismantling terrorist infrastructure.

Mr. Singh emphasized that those who sponsor, nurture and utilize terrorism for their narrow and selfish ends must bear the consequences. He highlighted that some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of policy and provide shelter to terrorists. He said, there should be no place for such double standards and SCO should not hesitate to criticise such nations.

Talking about the decisive action taken by the country in the fight against terrorism, the Defence Minister said, India has shown that epicentres of terrorism are no longer safe and the country will not hesitate to target them. He said, India reaffirms its resolve to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

Highlighting the challenges posed by the changing dynamics of transnational terrorism and cyber-attacks to hybrid warfare, Mr Singh pointed towards countering the technologies used by terrorists including drones for cross-border smuggling of weapons and drugs.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also advocated for reforming multilateralism to build cooperation and fostering dialogue and collaboration among nations to prevent conflict. The Minister stressed that no country can manage alone and the very idea of the global order, or multilateralism, is the assumption that nations have to work with each other for their mutual and collective benefit. He also congratulated Belarus on joining the SCO family as a new member.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is an intergovernmental body established in 2001. India became a full member in 2017. Current SCO members include Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Belarus, and India. China holds the Chair of the SCO for 2025 under the theme “Upholding the Shanghai Spirit: SCO on the Move.”