Rajnath Singh refuses to sign SCO document over omission of Pahalgam

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh refused to sign a joint statement at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' Meeting in China’s Qingdao. The minister's refusal was a stern message from India, which was angered by the document's failure to mention the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 innocent civilians.

India's strong position on terrorism was not reflected in the document, which instead included a mention of Balochistan in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. This inclusion was seen as a tacit accusation against India for creating unrest in the region, a point that further cemented India's decision not to endorse the statement.

During his address at the meeting, Rajnath Singh made a veiled but unmistakable reference to Pakistan, highlighting India's concerns about cross-border terrorism. He urged the SCO member states to take a principled and firm stand, condemning countries that use terrorism as a tool of state policy. "There should be no place for such double standards. SCO should not hesitate to criticise such nations," Singh stated, emphasizing a zero-tolerance approach.

Singh's comments came just weeks after the horrific attack in Pahalgam, which was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy for the UN-designated terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The minister explicitly detailed the barbarity of the attack, noting that victims were "shot at after they were profiled based on their religious identity." The pattern of the attack, he added, matched previous LeT operations in India, further highlighting the cross-border nature of the threat.