Jaishankar and Bilawal Bhutto speak on terrorism at SCO Summit

The channel of finances for terrorist activities must be blocked without any distinction and terrorism in all its forms including crossborder terrorism must be stopped External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday at a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation SCO here in presence of his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal BhuttoZardariIn his address at the SCO Council of foreign Ministers meeting Jaishankar said taking the eyes off terrorism would be detrimental to the security interests of the grouping and that when the world was engaged in facing COVID19 pandemic and its consequences the menace of terrorism continued unabated in an apparent reference to PakistanThe external affairs minister chairing the conclave said India firmly believes that there can be no justification for terrorism and noted that combating the menace is one of the original mandates of the SCOWe must not allow anybody individual or State to hide behind nonState actors he saidJaishankar also underlined that while connectivity is key to progress it must come with respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all member states The meeting at a luxury hotel in this beach resort was attended by Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang Russias Sergey Lavrov and their counterparts from other SCO member nationsJaishankar also delved into the situation in Afghanistan and the impact of the COVID19 pandemic as well as the consequences of geopolitical upheavals that impacted supplies of energy food and fertilisersTaking our eyes off the menace would be detrimental to our security interests We firmly believe that there can be no justification for terrorism and it must be stopped in all its forms and manifestations including crossborder terrorism Jaishankar said The channel of finances for terrorist activities must be seized and blocked without distinction Members need not be reminded that combating terrorism is one of the original mandates of the SCO he addedOn Afghanistan he said the unfolding situation in that country remains at centre of our attention Our efforts should be directed towards the welfare of the Afghan people Our immediate priorities include providing humanitarian assistance ensuring a truly inclusive and representative government combating terrorism and drug trafficking and preserving the rights of women children and minorities he saidIn his remarks BhuttoZardari said the collective security of our peoples is our joint responsibility Terrorism continues to threaten global security he said Lets not get caught up in weaponising terrorism for diplomatic point scoring he said in remarks that appeared to take a potshot at the Indian sideWhen I speak on this topic I do so not only as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan whose people have suffered the most in terms of number of attacks and number of casualties I also speak as the son whose mother was assassinated at the hands of terrorists the Pakistan foreign minister saidFormer Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated by a suicide bomber in Rawalpindi in 2007BhuttoZardari said he and his country are firmly committed to be part of regional and global efforts for eradicating terrorism This requires not only a comprehensive approach but also a collective approach It demands we address the root causes as well as the threats posed by specific groupsAlso readJaishankar holds talks with Russian counterpart LavrovIt requires that we let this challenge unite us to fight it rather than divide us to become its victim Our success requires us to isolate this issue from geopolitical partisanship he addedIn his address Jaishankar noted that current crises facing the world have exposed a credibility and trust deficit in the ability of global institutions to manage challenges in a timely and effective manner He said reform and modernisation of the SCO will aid a more contemporary outlook which India will actively supportThe external affairs minister also noted the progress for the admission of Iran and Belarus as full member states of the SCOHe also said that constructive steps are being taken to make English the third official language of SCO Currently Chinese and Russian are the two official languages of the SCO Jaishankar also appreciated the support of member countries for Indias proposal of creation of two new working groups on startups and innovation and traditional medicineIn his address the Pakistan foreign minister talking about the challenge of terrorism also said that practical and pragmatic solutions exist to put an end to this chapter once and for allWe must stop conflating nonstate actors with state actors Condemn all forms of terrorism including state sponsored terrorism he added BhuttoZardari also called upon interim Afghan authorities to uphold their commitments on not allowing the use of Afghan soil for terrorism The Pakistan foreign minister also made a special mention of the commendable role China has recently played in bridging differences between Saudi Arabia and IranWe must ensure respect for these universally recognised principles within the SCO Unilateral and illegal measures by States in violation of international law and Security Council resolutions run counter to the SCO objectives he said We need to be unambiguous in keeping our commitments and charting out a new future for our people One that is not based on conflict preservation but on conflict resolution he saidThe SCO is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia China the Kyrgyz Republic Kazakhstan Tajikistan and Uzbekistan India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017India was made an observer at the SCO in 2005 and has generally participated in the ministeriallevel meetings of the grouping which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region India has shown a keen interest in deepening its securityrelated cooperation with the SCO and its Regional AntiTerrorism Structure RATS which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defenceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever