New Delhi: Describing terrorism as “a crime against humanity”, India pitched today for a united fight against the menace by all the members of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), an eight-nation grouping which includes Pakistan and China.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, while attending the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in Uzbekistan capital Tashkent said terrorism must be defeated in all its forms peace, security and stability in the Asian region as well as the world at large.
SCO has 8 members – India, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan.
“Terrorism is one of the most serious challenges to global peace and security,” Singh said and reiterated India’s resolve to fight all forms of menace and make the region peaceful, secure and stable.
He underlined that “terrorism in any form, including cross-border terrorism, committed by anyone and for whatever purpose, is a crime against humanity.”
The comment at the gathering of Defence Ministers, including those of China and Pakistan, assumes significance considering that Pakistan has been sponsoring cross-border terrorism against India for decades and China has been providing a cover to it by blocking sanctions against wanted terrorists at the UN Security Council.
About two weeks back, China blocked a move by the UNSC to sanction Rouf Asghar, top commander of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror group and brother of the outfit’s chief Masood Azhar.
Rouf Asghar, or Azhar, is wanted in several major terror cases, including hijacking of Indian Airlines Plane in December 1999 to Afghanistan and attack on Indian Parliament in December 2001.
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Earlier this year, China blocked the sanctioning of top commander of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfit Abdul Rehman Makki, who was behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Prior to that, China had, for over 10 years, prevented the UNSC from sanctioning JeM chief Masood Azhar. After immense pressure, it finally lifted the ‘technical hold’ about 3 years back.
Addressing the meeting today, Rajnath Singh said, “We seek to develop joint institutional capabilities with the SCO member states, which, while respecting the sensitivities of each country, create the spirit of cooperation among individuals, societies and nations.”
He proposed to host a workshop in India in 2023 on the theme ‘Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief – Risk mitigation and Disaster Resilient Infrastructure’ for the Defence Ministries of SCO Member States.
Singh also suggested an annual seminar on ‘Topic of Interest’ among the defence think tanks of SCO countries.
“We propose to organise the first such defence think tank seminar in India in 2023,” he added.
Talking about Afghanistan, which has Observer status in the SCO, the Defence Minister voiced India’s full support to a peaceful, secure & stable nation.
At the same time, he emphasised that the territory of Afghanistan “must not be used to intimidate or attack any country by providing safe havens & training to terrorists and supporting their activities through financial assistance.”
This assumes significance as India, ever since Taliban seized power in August last year, has been nursing concerns about the territory of Afghanistan being used for setting up terror training camps and other activities directed against India.
New Delhi has been particularly unhappy over the gross interference by Pakistan in the affairs of Afghanistan.
Rajnath Singh said India is for Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, national unity and non-interference in internal affairs.
He urged SCO members to encourage Afghanistan authorities to achieve national reconciliation through dialogue & negotiation and establish a broad-based, inclusive & representative political structure in the country.
He underlined the importance of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions in this regard.
He stressed on the need to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan and safeguard their fundamental rights.
Afghanistan, along with Iran, Belarus and Mongolia, have Observer Status in the SCO.
Mentioning Ukraine, the Defence Minister voiced India’s concern on the “situation” there and said New Delhi supports talks between Russia and Ukraine to resolve the crisis.
“India is concerned about the humanitarian crisis in-and-around Ukraine. We have extended our support for the efforts of the UN Secretary General, UN agencies and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to provide humanitarian assistance,” he added.
Singh invited all SCO Member States to visit India next year when New Delhi takes over the presidency of the Organisation from Uzbekistan.
On the sidelines of the SCO meet, Singh “exchanged pleasantries” with Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu this morning, during which he conveyed his deep appreciation and thanks for arresting in Moscow a terrorist who was planning attacks in India.
