Must find internal reset for Pakistan bother at the SCO
India needs to assess why it lacks clout in the 10-member grouping that China dominates, though its relationship with the latter is on the mend. Beijing's cliche of a dance between the dragon and the elephant apart, China's tango with its client state Pakistan is the most visible at the moment. Evolving consensus when the aggressor and the victim of terror have an equal say is tough if the latter does not have a strong counterweight. It is not without reason that India excluded SCO member states from the global outreach programme by multi-party delegations of parliament to explain its post-Pahalgam strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and the refusal to give in to nuclear blackmail.
India needs a balm for the Pakistan headache. It must engage with SCO but with calibrated expectations. While exposing the double standards of those who deny cross-border terror, India must also invest more in deterrence and diplomatic assertiveness. The message should go out that multilateral organisations not calling out all variants of terror disrespect their fundamental objectives.
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