New Delhi:Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday hit out at Pakistan at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in New Delhi for sheltering terrorists saying that any kind of terrorist act or support to it in any form is a major crime against humanity”. The Defence Minister said that peace and prosperity cannot coexist with the menace of terrorism. Pakistan Defence Minister Khwaja Asif attended the SCO meeting virtually.
Addressing the SCO Defence Ministers meeting, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "If a nation shelters terrorists, it not only poses a threat to others but to itself too. The radicalization of youth is a cause of concern not only from the point of view of security, but it is also a major obstacle in the path of socioeconomic progress of society".
"If we want to make the SCO a stronger and more credible international organization, our top-most priority should be to effectively deal with terrorism,” Singh added. India hosted the SCO Defence Ministers meeting here in New Delhi to say which included representatives from India, Russia, China, and other member countries.
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The Defence minister called upon the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states to collectively work towards eliminating terrorism in all its forms and fix accountability on those who aid or fund such activities. Singh noted that India envisions a robust framework of regional cooperation that mutually respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all member states by taking care of their legitimate interests.
He asserted that New Delhi strives to further bolster trust and cooperation among the members of the SCO as it believes in maintaining peace and security based on the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations. Sharing his insights on the vision to ensure collective prosperity, the Defence minister called for concerted efforts by the SCO member states, so that the region, with limitless possibilities in today’s multilateral world, shifts to the mindset of “great gain from a win-win paradigm” from “great game of zero-sum, win-lose paradigm”.
“India has always followed the principle of ‘Let us walk together and move forward together’. Every era has a zeitgeist (defining idea). The zeitgeist of the present era is ‘Win-win cooperation for the great gain’,” he said. He further highlighted the concept of ‘SECURE’ introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the SCO summit in Qingdao, China in 2018.
Singh stated that every alphabet of the word ‘SECURE’ reflects India’s commitment to the multi-dimensional challenges. “India believes in maintaining peace and security based on UN Charter provisions. Exhorted for concerted efforts to ensure win-win cooperation for great gain. There is need to root out terrorism collectively & fix accountability on its supporters,” Defence Minister wrote in a tweet.
“We are committed towards defence capacity building of SCO members for shared security interests. Secure, stable and prosperous region will improve the quality of life for people in each nation,” he said.
