New Delhi: With Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto listening, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar at the SCO Foreign Ministers’ conclave in Tashkent asserted that “zero tolerance” for terrorism in all its manifestations is a must. EAM aptly used the forum of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to send a strong message on terrorism across to Pakistan.
According to highly-placed sources, PM Modi is keen that forums like SCO should be utilized to corner Pakistan as well as China on the issue of terrorism.
While Pakistan continues to export terror, China continues to be mute on this misconduct, sources said, adding that Jaishankar in private conversations told the foreign ministers from central Asian states that cross-border terrorism is the biggest challenge for most of the countries belonging to the SCO.
What is worth mentioning here is that National Security Adviser Ajit Doval last year also proposed an action plan against Pakistan-based terror groups Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) as part of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation framework. He had made this proposal while participating in the meeting of NSAs in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe in November 2021.
What is remarkable is that India is not missing any chance to highlight its concerns over cross border terrorism emanating from Pakistan during any meeting of the SCO. Pakistan is also part of the SCO, and India wants other SCO members including China to be vocal against terrorism from Pakistan so that pressure can be built on it. “New Delhi is keen to expose Beijing’s connivance with Islamabad on this issue,” officials said.
EAM stressed on the words “terrorism in all its manifestations” only because he wanted to give a message to China which has been selective in terms of terrorism. “With Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi present during the Tashkent meeting, Jaishankar gave the message that Beijing should also join global chorus against Pak-based terror groups,” said a diplomat.
The use of Afghan soil by terrorists should also be a matter of concern for all in the SCO, Jaishankar signalled.