At SCO meet, NSA Doval makes strong pitch for action against Lashkar, JeM

New Delhi, June 24: National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval proposed an action plan against the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation framework.

The NSA also emphasised on the adoption of international standards to counter terror financing including a Memorandum of Understanding between the SCO and Financial Action Task Force.

The NSA also spoke on the need to monitor new technologies being used by terrorists, which include drones for smuggling of weapons and the misuse of the dark web, social media, blockchain and dark web.

NSA Doval also said that there should be greater connectivity including via initiatives such as the Chahbahar, INSTC, Regional Air Corridors, Ashgabat Agreement that always lead to economic gains and trust building. He however emphasised that connectivity must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He also said that there was a need to preserve gains made in the last two decades in Afghanistan and also give top priority to the welfare of its people. India fully supports that SCO Contact Group on Afghanistan, which must be more active, Doval also said.

The NSA also held discussions with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev and discussed contemporary developments of bilateral, regional, and global significance.

The joint statement issued by the SCO said that special attention was given to the current military and political situation in Afghanistan and the risk of its escalation.
Pakistani National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf and Afghan NSA Hamdullah Mohib were among the participants at the in-person meeting that discussed key regional security issues, including the evolving situation in Afghanistan.

"NSA Ajit Doval participated in the 16th Meeting of Security Council Secretaries of SCO member states," the Indian embassy in Tajikistan tweeted.

In September last year, Doval walked out of a virtual meeting of the SCO after the Pakistani representative projected a map that inaccurately depicted Kashmir. India had slammed Pakistan for the "blatant disregard" to the norms of the meeting. The SCO, seen as a counterweight to NATO, is an eight-member economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations. India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017. SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

India has shown keen interest in deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence. India was made an observer at the SCO in 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.