India Has Right to Defend Its People From Terrorism, Jaishankar Tells SCO Meeting in Moscow

India has the right to defend its citizens against terrorism and will continue to exercise that right, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Tuesday at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government meeting in Moscow. His remarks appeared to allude to Operation Sindoor, India’s cross-border military action against Pakistan in May following the April Pahalgam terror attack.

Jaishankar said the threat of terrorism had grown more serious over the years and stressed the need for zero tolerance at the global level.

“The SCO was founded to combat the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism,” he said. “These threats have only become more serious. There can be no justification, no looking away, and no whitewashing.”

The meeting comes six months after India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, striking terror and military targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people. The operation, which involved fighter jets, missiles, drones and heavy artillery exchanges, ended with a ceasefire on May 10.

Tensions within the SCO on the issue of terrorism are not new. In June, the bloc’s defence ministers failed to issue a joint communiqué after India refused to endorse a draft that did not mention the Pahalgam attack but referenced Balochistan and the hijacking of the Jaffar Express by Baloch militants.

Economic Uncertainty, Trade and Diversification

Beyond security, Jaishankar said the global economic environment remained volatile. With supply-side risks compounded by demand-side pressures, he called for countries to de-risk and diversify through broader economic linkages.

“This process must be fair, transparent and equitable,” he said, adding that India’s ongoing efforts to conclude free-trade arrangements with several SCO partners were part of this strategy.

The meeting comes as New Delhi faces renewed pressure from the United States to scale back its purchases of Russian oil and military equipment.

People-to-People and Humanitarian Cooperation

Jaishankar also underlined the importance of cultural and humanitarian cooperation within the bloc, noting India’s contributions ranging from cancer treatment equipment and vaccines to rapid relief supplies during recent earthquakes in Afghanistan.

He highlighted India’s Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) as an important initiative for the region.

Reform and Modernisation of the SCO

Calling for the SCO to modernise and adapt to new challenges such as cybercrime, organised crime and drug trafficking, Jaishankar said India strongly supported a reform-oriented agenda.
He urged the bloc to finally approve the long-pending proposal to make English an official working language of the organisation.

On Monday, Jaishankar also said India and Russia were working to finalise a set of bilateral agreements ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi for a summit in December.