India Won't Hesitate To Target Epicentres Of Terrorism: Rajnath Singh At SCO Meet—Key Highlights

Addressing a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday (26 June) said that peace, security and trust-deficit are the biggest challenges confronting the region.

He added that the root cause of these problems is rising radicalisation, extremism and terrorism.

"I believe that the biggest challenges that we are facing in our region are related to peace, security and trust-deficit. And the root cause of these problems is increasing radicalization, extremism and terrorism," Singh said at the SCO defence ministers' meet.

Singh emphasised the need for a united fight against terror and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

"Peace and prosperity cannot co-exist with terrorism and proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) in the hands of non-state actors and terror groups. Dealing with these challenges require decisive action and we must unite in our fight against these evils for our collective safety and security," he said.

In a veiled dig at Pakistan, which is also a member of the SCO grouping, Singh asked the group to "not hesitate" in criticising the nations who sponsor, nurture and utilise terrorism for their "selfish ends".

"It is imperative that those who sponsor, nurture and utilize terrorism for their narrow and selfish ends must bear the consequences. Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of policy and provide shelter to terrorists. There should be no place for such double standards. SCO should not hesitate to criticise such nations," he said.

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khwaja Asif also attended the meeting being held in Qingdao in China.

Singh also highlighted India’s zero tolerance policy against terror and its supporters.

"India's zero tolerance policy for terrorism is manifest today through its actions. This includes our right to defend ourselves against terrorism. We have shown that epicentres of terrorism are no longer safe and we will not hesitate to target them," Singh said.

Singh also called for taking pro-active steps to stop radicalisation of youth.

The Defence Minister said that the SCO grouping should "seek to counter the technology used by terrorists including drones for cross-border smuggling of weapons and drugs".

Singh's comments came weeks after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on 22 April, in which 26 innocent people, mostly tourists, were killed by Pakistan-backed terrorists.

The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy group of the UN-designated terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), had claimed the responsibility for the attack.

Singh said the victims were profiled and killed based on their religious identity.

"On 22 April 2025, the terror group ‘The Resistance Front’ (TRF) carried out a dastardly and heinous attack on innocent tourists at Pahalgam in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. 26 innocent civilians, including a Nepali national, were killed. Victims were shot at after they were profiled based on religious identity. The Resistance Front which is a proxy of UN designated terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) claimed responsibility for the attack," he said.

"The pattern of Pahalgam terror attack matches with LeT’s previous terror attacks in India. In exercising its right to defend against terrorism and pre-empt as well as deter further cross border terrorist attacks, India on 7 May 2025 successfully launched Op Sindoor to dismantle cross border terrorist infrastructure," he added.

Reiterating the need to hold those involved in the attack accountable and bring them to justice, Singh asked the SCO members to condemn the evil of terrorism unequivocally.

"We reiterate the need to hold the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of reprehensible acts of terrorism, including cross border terrorism accountable and bring them to justice. Any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivation whenever, wherever and by whom-so-ever committed. SCO members must condemn this evil unequivocally," he added.

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