No Place For Double Standards: Rajnath Singh Takes A Dig At Pakistan In SCO Meet In China

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday took a veiled dig at Pakistan for using cross-border terrorism as an instrument of policy.

What Rajnath Singh Said?

Speaking at Rajnath Singh urges for an end to terrorism at the SCO Defence Ministers' meeting in China's Qingdao, Singh stated that India has zero tolerance for terrorism.

"...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, " ANI quoted the Defence Minister as saying.

He spoke about the Pahalgam terrorist attack which killed 26 civilians on April 22. Singh said, "The Resistance Front 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 UN-designated terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack."

The Defence Minister stated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivation and the SCO members must condemn this "evil unequivocally." He reiterated India's stand on cross-border terrorism and highlighted 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.

Operation Sindoor

"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 7th May 2025 successfully launched Operation Sindoor to dismantle cross border terrorist infrastructure," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said.

"India's zero tolerance 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, " says Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the SCO Defence Ministers' meeting

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh added that India's zero tolerance for terrorism is manifest today through its actions and this includes their right to defend themselves against terrorism. He emphasized that they had shown that epicentres of terrorism were no longer safe and they would not hesitate to target them.

"We should also take proactive steps to prevent the spread of radicalization among our youth. The RATS mechanism of SCO has played a significant role in this regard. The joint statement of the Council of SCO Heads of State on 'Countering Radicalization leading to Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism' issued during India's Chairmanship symbolises our shared commitment," stated Singh.

He believed the biggest challenges the countries were facing in their region were related to peace, security, and trust deficit. He explained that the root cause of these problems was increasing radicalization, extremism, and terrorism. He asserted that peace and prosperity could not coexist with terrorism and the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction in the hands of non-state actors and terror groups. He concluded by stating that dealing with these challenges required decisive action and they must unite in their fight against these evils for their collective safety and security.

Rajnath Singh stated that India believed reformed multilateralism could help build cooperation to prevent conflict between countries by creating mechanisms for dialogue and collaboration. He emphasized that no country, however large and powerful, could manage alone. He further explained that the very idea of the global order, or indeed of multilateralism, was the assumption that nations had to work with each other for their mutual and collective benefit. He concluded by mentioning that this was also reflective of their age-old Sanskrit saying 'Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavantu', which implied peace and prosperity to all.

The two-day SCO Defence Ministers' meeting is scheduled for June 25-26. Hosted by China in the eastern city of Qingdao, the event is being attended by defence ministers and senior officials from SCO's ten full member states: India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and new entrant Belarus.