NEW DELHI: The ministry of external affairs on Thursday said that India chose not to sign the joint statement at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting in Qingdao, China, as it did not adequately reflect India’s concerns on terrorism.Defence minister Rajnath Singh had earlier taken a firm stance, refusing to sign the statement citing the omission of the heinous Pahalgam terror attack while it made direct references to militant activities in Balochistan.Speaking at a press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that “India wanted concerns on terrorism reflected,” but the proposal was “not acceptable to one particular country,” which prevented the consensus necessary for finalising the document.“We had our defence minister participating in the defence minister’s meeting of SCO… I understand that they could not adopt a joint statement. I also understand that certain member countries could not reach consensus on certain issues and hence the document could not be finalised,” ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters.Jaiswal added that the defence minister had reiterated India’s long-standing and uncompromising stance on terrorism, calling for united efforts by all member states to address the threat comprehensively.“The defence minister in his address, called upon these 11 countries to come together to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations… He also reiterated the need to uphold that the perpetrators, organisers, financers, sponsors of reprehensible acts of terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, need to be held accountable and brought to justice,” he said.According to officials, India was particularly dissatisfied that the Pahalgam attack — believed to be carried out by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba — was not acknowledged in the draft joint communiqué.At the summit, Rajnath Singh had urged SCO members to act decisively against terrorism, emphasising the need to reject double standards.“Any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of motivation, whenever, wherever and whom-so-ever committed. SCO members must condemn this evil unequivocally. We reiterate the need to hold the perpetrators, organizers, financiers, and sponsors, reprehensible acts of terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, accountable and bring them to justice,” Singh said in his address.The SCO summit brought together defence leaders from 10 member states including China, Russia, Pakistan, and India. Due to the divergence in positions on terrorism and related issues, the bloc ultimately decided not to adopt a joint statement.
