External Affairs Minister Jaishankar on Monday implicitly criticised Pakistan, saying perpetrators, facilitators, financiers and supporters of terrorism must be identified and punished. “Fighting the triple evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism is our top priority in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO),” he said in an interview with Astana-based Kazinform news agency, PTI reported.
Jaishankar led the Indian delegation to the 24th meeting of the SCO summit in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The SCO was founded in 2001 at a summit in Shanghai by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan have been permanent members of the SCO since 2017.See also: PM Modi’s speech at SCO summit implicitly criticizes China and Pakistan“There is no doubt that the biggest challenge facing the world today is terrorism. It has become a threat to regional and global peace and calls for urgent action from all of us,” he said. “Fighting terrorism requires a very comprehensive approach. Not only the perpetrators of heinous terrorist acts but also their facilitators, financiers and sponsors need to be identified and punished,” he added. Jaishankar said he strongly believes that the SCO, through its Regional Anti-Terror Structures (RATS), is in a “rightful position” to propose measures to combat terrorism in the region. On terrorists receiving state sponsorship from Pakistan, Jaishankar said, “Even after decades of taking measures against terrorism in international forums including the UN Security Council, today terrorism remains a threat in the region. UN-designated terrorist organisations are still operating in the region.”See also: At SCO summit, PM Modi says ‘certain countries’ are hotbeds of terrorism, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Sharif watches
Astana Summit Declaration
The Astana Declaration following the summit stated that “Member states unanimously recognize the need to improve SCO mechanisms to expand specialized cooperation in countering security challenges and threats, and in the fight against terrorism, separatism, extremism, drug trafficking, arms smuggling and other transnational organized crimes.”(with PTI input)
