India withheld its support for the joint communiqué at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting after concerns on terrorism, particularly the recent Pahalgam terror attack, were reportedly excluded from the final document. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who represented India at the meeting, raised strong objections over the omission, leading to the communiqué not being adopted.
Addressing the issue, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed on Wednesday that the lack of consensus among member countries led to the failure in adopting the joint statement. “Certain member countries could not reach consensus on certain issues and hence the document could not be finalised,” he said.
India, according to the MEA, insisted on including references to terrorism and specific attacks such as the Pahalgam incident, where several Indian soldiers were killed. “On our side, India wanted concerns on terrorism reflected in the document, which was not acceptable to one particular country and therefore the statement was not adopted,” Jaiswal added, without naming the country that objected.
Despite the deadlock, Rajnath Singh’s participation at the SCO meeting remained firm, with India issuing a detailed press release outlining its position. “The press release is very instructive in how we look at the threat of terrorism,” said Jaiswal.
In his address at the meeting, Singh reportedly called upon SCO member nations to unite in the global fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. He emphasised the need for stronger cooperation and accountability, especially when it comes to harbouring or supporting terror activities.
India’s decision underscores its consistent stance that terrorism should not be ignored in multilateral platforms and that any effort to dilute or avoid the issue would be unacceptable.
The standoff also reflects the growing friction within the SCO on sensitive geopolitical and security matters, as member countries increasingly diverge in their positions.