New Delhi, 5 July 2024
On Thursday, at the 24th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar delivered a compelling plea to the International Community Council of Heads of State meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan. He also called for unified efforts to “isolate and expose” governments that harbor terrorists provide safe havens and support to them.
While addressing world leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Jaishankar underlined the SCO’s primary purpose of countering terrorism. He emphasized the essential need to prevent youth radicalization and advocated for proactive steps to that end.
Highlighting the gravity of the situation, Jaishankar emphasized the need for a determined response to cross-border terrorism. He stressed the importance of strongly opposing terrorist finance and recruitment efforts.
In conveying Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sentiments at the extended format meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State, Jaishankar reiterated India’s stance on terrorism. “Terrorism continues to be used as a tool of destabilization by nations. We have firsthand experience with cross-border terrorism,” he stated emphatically. Adding that terrorism in whatever form cannot be justified, he strongly condemned the sheltering of terrorists.