Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on Tuesday traded jibes on cross-border militancy and rights of minorities as both leaders came face-to-face during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) virtual summit.
Established in 2001, the SCO is the largest regional grouping in Eurasia, covering around 40 percent of the world’s population and 30 percent of global economic output. Owing to its profile of security and economic cooperation, the SCO has gained traction across Asia over the years.
The SCO provides senior officials from India and Pakistan a chance to interact with one another. Political tensions between the two countries remain high as they hurl accusations at one another of financing subversive activities in each other’s countries. India regularly accuses Pakistan of training and arming insurgent groups, a charge Islamabad denies.
This year’s SCO summit is being hosted by India while all participants are attending it via video conference.
“Terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, including state terrorism, must be condemned in clear and unambiguous terms and there can be no justification for the killing of innocent people, regardless of the cause or pretext,” Sharif said during his address, seemingly in response to Modi’s earlier jibe in which he accused some countries of providing shelter to militants.
The Pakistani prime minister said SCO member states have a shared interest in ensuring peace and stability in the region, calling it a pre-condition for economic development anywhere in the world. “The hydra-headed monster of terrorism and extremism, whether committed by individuals, societies, or states, must be fought with full vigor and conviction,” he said.
Taking a veiled dig at his Indian counterpart, Sharif said any temptation to use “terrorism” as cudgel for diplomatic point-scoring must be avoided under all circumstances. “Similarly, religious minorities should never be demonized in the pursuit of domestic political agendas,” he added.
Sharif spoke about Afghanistan, saying that stability in the country remains critical to achieving lasting peace and security in the region. He, however, also urged the Taliban government in Afghanistan to ensure its soil is not used for militancy.“The Interim Afghan Government must take concrete measures to ensure its soil is not used for terrorism by any entity,” he said. “A peaceful and stable Afghanistan will not only bring economic dividends to the Afghan people but would also unlock the true economic potential of the SCO region, as well as contribute to global peace and security.”
During his opening statement, without mentioning Pakistan, Modi had said some countries use militancy as an instrument of their foreign policy, urging other SCO countries to condemn it.
“Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of their policies and give shelter to terrorists,” the Indian prime minister said. “SCO should not hesitate to criticize such countries. SCO countries should condemn it. There should be no double standards on terrorism.”
