Pahalgam terror attack was carried out to sow religious divide: S Jaishankar tells SCO
During a meeting with other foreign ministers, including Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in China's Tianjin, Jaishankar said that the regional inter-governmental body was founded to combat the 'three evils' of terrorism, separatism and extremism.
'Not surprisingly, they often occur together,' he said.
Referring to the Pahalgam attack on April 22, the minister said that the UN Security Council had issued a statement condemning it and 'underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice'.
Jaishnkar added: 'We have since done exactly that and will continue doing so. It is imperative that the SCO, to remain true to its founding objectives, take an uncompromising position on this challenge.'
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, established in 2001, comprises India, China, Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Jaishankar's remarks on Tuesday came a month after India refused to sign a joint statement at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Defence Ministers' meeting held in China. The Ministry of External Affairs had said that the document did not reflect New Delhi's position against terror.
'India wanted concerns and terrorism reflected in the document, which was not acceptable to one particular country,' Randhir Jaiswal, the ministry's spokesperson, had said during a press briefing.
The joint statement reportedly did not contain references to the Pahalgam terror attack.
A statement issued by the secretariat of the inter-governmental body after Tuesday's meeting said that the members 'exchanged views on key areas of SCO cooperation, including political, economic, trade, cultural issues and key international and regional issues'.
The statement did not mention terrorism, The Hindu reported.
The terror attack at Baisaran near Pahalgam town in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22 left 26 persons dead and 16 injured. The terrorists targeted tourists after asking their names to ascertain their religion, the police said. All but three of those killed were Hindu.
In response to the terror attack, India launched military strikes – codenamed Operation Sindoor – on what New Delhi claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The Pakistan Army retaliated to Indian strikes by repeatedly shelling Indian villages along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. At least 22 Indian civilians and eight defence personnel were killed.
On May 10, India and Pakistan reached an 'understanding' to halt firing following a four-day conflict.
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