Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, in his address of the Defense Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Qingdao, China on Thursday, strongly condemned the countries who use cross -border terrorism as a policy tool and shelters terrorists. His remarks came after the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in April.
In his address, Singh said, “Some countries use cross -border terrorism as a means of policy and give shelter to terrorists. There should be no place for such double standards. The SCO should not hesitate to criticize such countries.”
Singh attracted attention to the terrorist attack on April 22 in Jammu and Kashmir, killing 26 civilians, including a Nepali citizen. Attacking Pakistan, the Defense Minister said that the Pakistan-based terrorist group ‘The Resistance Front’, a representative of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba declared by the United Nations, took responsibility for the heinous crime on Indian land.
Singh said, “On 22 April 2025, the terrorist group ‘The Resistance Front’ launched a brutal and heinous attack on innocent tourists in Pahalgam in Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. In this, 26 innocent citizens including a Nepali citizen were killed. The victims were shot dead on the basis of religious identity. Is.”
The Defense Minister also said that India exercised its “right to defense” and successfully started the operation vermilion on 7 May, which aims to destroy the terrorist infrastructure across the border.
Rajnath Singh said, “The pattern of Pahalgam terror attack matches the previous terrorist attacks in India. Experieving its right to prevent terrorism and to prevent terrorist attacks, India successfully started operation vermilion to destroy terrorist infrastructure across the border on 7 May 2025.”
Earlier, Singh, who reached the venue, was welcomed by Admiral Dong Jun. Shortly after Singh entered the premises of Singh, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khwaja Asif reached there.
Singh said in his address, “India’s zero tolerance towards terrorism is manifested by its actions today. This includes our right to defend ourselves against terrorism. We have shown that the centers of terrorism are no longer safe and we will not hesitate to target them.”
He said, “We should also take active steps to prevent the spread of fundamentalism among our youth. The RATS system of the SCO has played an important role in this regard. The joint statement of the SCO’s heads of SCOs is a symbol of our shared commitment on the ‘Terrorism, separatism and fanatics that give birth to terrorism, separatism and extremism during the chairmanship of India.”
The meeting of Defense Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is being held from 25 to 26 June in Qingdao, in which the defense leaders of member countries including India, China, Russia and several Central Asian countries will gather to discuss issues related to regional and international peace and security.
According to a press release by the Ministry of Defense, Rajnath Singh will confirm India’s continuous commitment to SCO’s principles and mandates. The Defense Minister will underline India’s approach to gaining more international peace and security, calling for joint and frequent efforts to eliminate terrorism and extremism in the region and highlight the need to increase trade, economic cooperation and contact between SCO countries.
He will also hold bilateral meetings with defense ministers of some partner countries including China and Russia during the SCO meeting. The Ministry of Defense emphasized that India gives special importance to the SCO in promoting polytheism in the region and promoting politics, security, economy and cooperation between people.
The Ministry of Defense said, “SCO follows its policy based on sovereignty, regional integrity of nations, non -interference in internal affairs, mutual respect, understanding and principles of equality of all member countries.”
The SCO established in 2001 is an inter-governmental organization that aims to promote regional stability and security through cooperation and dialogue. India became its full member in 2017 and held its president in 2023. China has headed for 2025 under the theme ‘SCO moving forward: SCO is moving forward’.