No place for double standards, terror epicentres no longer immune: Rajnath Singh at SCO
New Delhi – Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday declared that “terrorism epicentres are no longer immune to justifiable punishment” and asserted there could be “no place for double standards” in combating terror, as he addressed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Bishkek in the presence of Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.
Using the regional security forum to underline India’s position on cross-border terrorism, Singh said SCO members must act firmly against nations, entities and networks that “abet, shelter and provide safe havens to terrorists.” According to a government statement issued after his address, he said state-sponsored cross-border terrorism targeting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations cannot be ignored.
“Operation Sindoor demonstrated India’s firm resolve that terrorism epicentres are no longer immune to justifiable punishment,” Singh said, placing India’s military response and diplomatic messaging on the same page at a multilateral platform that includes both Pakistan and China.
Without naming Pakistan directly, Singh said “terrorism has nonationality and no theology” and stressed that the credibility of regional groupings like the SCO would depend on consistency, not selective responses.
His remarks also came against the backdrop of last year’s SCO defence ministers’ meeting in Qingdao, China, where India had refused to sign the joint communiqué after its concerns on terrorism were not adequately reflected. It was learnt then that New Delhi objected to the omission of the Pahalgam terror attack from the final text even as references seen as closer to Pakistan’s concerns, including Balochistan, remained. India subsequently made clear that document did not sufficiently reflect its core concerns on terrorism.Singh also met Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov before the formal session, underlining Russia’s continuing strategic relevance as a key defence partner for India.
At Qingdao, Singh had also stated that connectivity and economic cooperation initiatives must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity, a formulation widely seen as a reference to India’s objections to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.