Tianjin (China): The Pahalgam terror attack was not only an assault on India’s conscience, but it was an open challenge to every nation that believes in humanity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday, strongly pitching for shunning “double standards” in combating terrorism.
In the presence of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chinese President Xi Jinping and many other global leaders, Modi told the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that fighting terrorism is a responsibility “towards humanity”.
In an unambiguous message to Pakistan and those supporting it, the prime minister said: “It is natural to ask — can the open support for terrorism by certain countries ever be acceptable to us?”
Modi, in an apparent reference to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), said connectivity projects that by-pass sovereignty lose both trust and meaning. India has been critical of BRI as part of it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
However, the central theme of the prime minister’s address was his call for concerted global efforts to combat terrorism.
“We must state it clearly and in one voice: double standards on terrorism are unacceptable. Together, we must oppose terrorism in every form and manifestation. This is our responsibility towards humanity,” he said.
The prime minister said no country, society or citizen can consider themselves “completely safe” from terrorism.
In response to the Pahalgam terror attack, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting “terrorist infrastructure” in territories controlled by Pakistan. The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10.
In his remarks, the prime minister said India has been bearing the “grave scars of ruthless terrorism” for the last four decades.
“Countless mothers have lost their children, and innumerable children have been left orphaned. Recently, we witnessed the most heinous face of terrorism in Pahalgam,” he said.
“This attack was not only an assault on the conscience of India, but also an open challenge to every nation, and every individual who believes in humanity,” he said.
Modi expressed his “deep gratitude” to all the friendly nations that stood by India during this moment of grief.
The prime minister, elaborating on India’s vision and policy towards the grouping, floated an acronym for SCO. “S for Security, C for Connectivity and O for Opportunity,” he explained.
“I would like to emphasise that security, peace, and stability form the foundation of any nation’s development. However, terrorism, separatism, and extremism remain major challenges along this path.”
Modi said terrorism is not only a threat to the security of individual nations, but a “shared challenge to all of humanity”.
“No country, no society, no citizen can consider themselves completely safe from it. That is why India has consistently stressed the importance of unity in the fight against terrorism,” he said.
The prime minister also underlined the importance of connectivity for regional growth and development.
“We believe that every effort towards connectivity must uphold the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is also enshrined in the core principles of the SCO Charter,” he said.
“Connectivity, that by-passes sovereignty, ultimately loses both trust and meaning,” he added.
The prime minister also proposed the creation of a Civilizational Dialogue Forum under the SCO.
“Such a platform will allow us to share the richness of our ancient civilisations, art, literature, and traditions on a global stage,” he said.
The prime minister also emphasised on ensuring the development of the Global South.
Keeping aspirations of the Global South confined to outdated frameworks is a grave injustice to future generations, he said.
Highlighting India’s development journey, Modi said it is moving ahead with the mantra of “reform, perform and transform”.
“We are consistently pursuing wide-ranging reforms, which are creating new opportunities for both national development and international cooperation. I warmly invite you all to be a part of India’s development journey,” he said.
Be it Covid or global economic instability, we have tried to convert every challenge into an opportunity, he said.
India maintains opposition to China’s Belt and Road Initiative at SCO conclave
India on Monday refused to endorse China’s ambitious Belt and Road initiative (BRI), becoming the only country in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) not to support the connectivity project.
A declaration unveiled at the end of the SCO summit in this Chinese port city said Russia, Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan reaffirmed their support to the Chinese connectivity initiative.
India has not endorsed the BRI in any previous SCO meetings and summits.
The declaration said the eight member nations noted the ongoing work on the joint implementation of this project, including efforts to align the development of the Eurasian Economic Union and the BRI.
“The member states consider it important to use the potential of the countries of the region, international organisations and multilateral associations to create a broad, open, mutually beneficial and equitable space for interaction in Eurasia in accordance with the norms and principles of international law and taking into account national interests,” it said.
“In this regard, they reiterated the initiative to establish a Greater Eurasian Partnership and expressed their readiness to develop dialogue,” it said.
India has been severely critical of the BRI as the project includes the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that passes through Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir.
