SCO Meet in China: NSA Doval Urges Members to Shun ‘Double Standards’ on Terrorism

SCO Meet in China: National Security Adviser Ajit Doval reiterated the necessity of ending double standards in the fight against terrorism and urged everyone from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) bloc to hold accountable perpetrators and sponsors of cross-border terror, in a swipe at Pakistan.

Doval made the statements while speaking at the meeting of the SCO Security Council Secretaries in Beijing, the same convening in which he stressed countering all forms of terror when he met with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Monday.

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While undoubtedly catching the attention of senior security officials of SCO member states, Doval delivered India's serious concerns about the persistent terrorist threat posed by groups endorsed by th United Nations Security Council like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), al-Qaeda and ISIS and their affiliates, and of the need to avoid "double standards" in counter-terrorism.

Doval credited that any act of terrorism, including cross-border terror, is a "crime against humanity," when he stressed the areas of responsibility for SCO member states so as to hold to account its perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of acts of cross-border terror so as to bring them to justice.

He called for "decisive action" against designated terrorists listed by the UN and groups such as LeT, JeM, and their proxies, and to dismantle their "terror eco-systems."

Although Doval did not name any country, his comments seemed aimed at Pakistan which is also a member of the SCO. This was after the Pahalgam terror attack in April which was carried out by a front for the LeT, after which India took military strikes against terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan on May 7, and this in turn precipitated four days of hostilities, ending only with an understanding for both sides to cease their military actions on May 10.

Doval stated that India’s decision to undertake Operation Sindoor following the “barbaric terror attack” in Pahalgam on April 22, was to eliminate the terror infrastructure and deter terrorists that were likely to be sent into India. “The actions of India were measured and non-escalatory,” he said.

Doval pointed out that The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the LeT, killed 26 people, including a Nepali citizen, and injured others in Pahalgam after separating the individuals based on religion.

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Doval asked other delegations for their support for important Indian proposals to counter-terrorism, including an "algorithm of joint actions" to combat the challenges presented by international terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda and its affiliates; to implement joint measures to combat radicalization that leads to terrorism, separatism and extremism; and a "joint information operation" to counter extremist ideologies.

The SCO includes China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, in addition to India and Pakistan. The meeting of security officials was part of the initial preparations for the SCO Summit later this year in China.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will also attend a two-day conclave of SCO defence ministers in Qingdao from Wednesday and is also expected to sound off members of the bloc to step up efforts to combat terrorism, in consonance with India’s recent diplomatic offensive against Pakistan-backed cross-border terror. As Doval had visited China last year, Singh will be the first senior ministerial-level visitor to China since the four-year-old military standoff over the Line of Actual Control (LAC) was called off back in October.

Doval has held a bilateral interaction with Aleksandr Venediktov, deputy secretary of Russia’s security council, on the sidelines of this SCO meeting, where they both discussed a range of bilateral, regional and international issues. Venediktov also noted that both sides reiterated the importance of strengthening their bilateral cooperation based on the special and privileged strategic partnership.

The senior security officials from SCO member states were also introduced to Chinese vice president Han Zheng in a separate meeting, where he reiterated China's willingness to work closely with other member countries to maintain security and stability in this turbulent and unstable world.

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