New Delhi: India has called for a reference to the Pahalgam terror attack in one of the documents to be presented during the upcoming summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) under the chairmanship of China, according to media reports.
Following this, Pakistan also pushed for a mention of the hijacking of the Jaffar Express and a recent bus attack carried out by the Baloch rebels in the same document.
According to the reports, India has urged that the official outcome statement of the upcoming SCO summit should include a condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 tourists were brutally killed by heavily armed terrorists from Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba’s offshoot, The Resistance Front.
Individuals familiar with the development have said that serious discussions are underway to include India’s proposal to mention the terror attack in the document, as any failure to do so, as per media reports, may undermine the SCO proceedings.
The SCO is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation established on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai.
The member states of SCO include India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus.
The multilateral forum also has a permanent organ, the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which serves to promote cooperation of member states against terrorism, separatism and extremism.
Reports suggest that since RATS addresses terror-related concerns, India’s request to include the reference condemning the April 22 attack is entirely valid.
Later this month, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to visit China for the SCO Defence Minister meet, which will be followed by the SCO National Security Advisers’ (NSA) meeting.
Earlier on Saturday, India opted out of the SCO joint statement regarding the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that India did not participate in the discussions on the statement.
According to the MEA, the overall position of India, on the matter was communicated to the SCO members.
“The SCO has issued a statement on recent developments between Israel and Iran. India’s own position on the matter had been articulated by us on June 13, 2025, and remains the same. We urge that channels of dialogue and diplomacy be utilised to work towards de-escalation, and it is essential that the international community undertake endeavours in that direction,” read the statement issued by the MEA.
“The External Affairs Minister, too, discussed this matter with his Iranian counterpart yesterday and conveyed the deep concern of the international community at the turn of events. He also urged the avoidance of any escalatory steps and an early return to diplomacy,” the statement added.
(IANS)
