India refuses to sign SCO joint document mentioning terror activities in Balochistan

• SCO joint statement document fails to mention Pahalgam incident.
• Forum decides against issuing joint statement post India’s refusal.
• New Delhi urges member states to take principled stance on terror.
  

India on Thursday, as reported by local media, refused to sign a joint document during a high-level Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) huddle being held in China due to it mentioning terrorist activities in Pakistan’s Balochistan and lack of reference to the Pahalgam incident — which saw several tourists being killed in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

According to the Times of India, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting held in Qingdao which brought together 10 member states’ ministers — including those from Russia, China, India and Pakistan. The huddle decided to not issue a joint statement over lack of consensus on the terrorism issue.

The development comes a day after Pakistan’s Foreign Office clarified that Defence Minister Khawaja Asif will be representing Islamabad at the SCO moot, however, there was no scheduled meeting between him and his Indian counterpart Singh.

The clarification followed claims by Turkish media that there was a possibility of a meeting between Pakistani and Indian defence ministers — marking the first such incident after the recent armed conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours which saw both sides carrying out cross-border strikes.

Earlier, National Security Advisor (NSA) Lt Gen Asim Malik attended the 20th meeting of the secretaries of the Security Council of SCO Member States on Tuesday in Beijing, China.

In addition to interacting with Chinese leadership, during the visit, the NSA delivered an important speech reiterating Pakistan’s stance on the global, and regional situation and contributions to peace and security, besides meetings with key leadership of SCO countries to enhance bilateral and security cooperation.

Speaking at the SCO meeting, Singh accentuated New Delhi’s concerns regarding terrorism and urged the member countries to take a principled stance on the matter, reported NDTV.

“The biggest challenges in our region are related to peace, security and trust deficit [….] India believes that reformed multilateralism can help build cooperation to prevent conflict between countries by creating mechanisms for dialogue and collaboration,” the Indian defence czar said.

‘Refrain from politicising anti-terrorism efforts’

Attending the same huddle, Defence Minister Asif, pledged Islamabad’s unwavering commitment to SCO’s principles and objectives.

Expressing concern over ongoing conflicts around the world, the defence czar stressed that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan was essential for achieving a shared vision of sustainable prosperity in the region.

“The international community should ensure a peaceful resolution of the long-standing unresolved conflicts of Kashmir [as such] unresolved conflicts remain a constant threat to global peace and security,” he remarked.

Touching upon the issue of terrorism, Asif termed terrorism as a common threat which needed to be dealt with collectively.

“All states should refrain from politicising joint efforts against terrorism,” the minister added.