Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun and Russia’s Defence Minister Andrei Belousov at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Qingdao, Shandong province, on June 26, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday (June 26, 2025) refused to sign a joint statement at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting held in Qingdao, China, as it would have diluted India’s position on critical issues, particularly concerning terrorism and regional security.
Watch | Peace and prosperity cannot co-exist with terrorism, Rajnath Singh says at SCO meet
According to sources, Mr. Singh refused to sign document as it does not mention anything about Pahalgam terror attack but it has mention militant activities in Balochistan. Pakistan and China trying to divert the attention from terrorism.
In this address in SCO, Mr. Singh mentioned that on April 22, 2025, the terror group ‘The Resistance Front’ (TRF) carried out a dastardly and heinous attack on innocent tourists at Pahalgam in 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 U.N. designated terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) claimed responsibility for the attack.
Full coverage of Operation Sindoor 2025
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 07th May 2025 successfully launched Op Sindoor to dismantle cross border terrorist infrastructure.
After disagreement over issue of terrorism, the bloc refused to issue a joint statement.
Mr. Singh is in China for a two-day visit to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defence minister meeting.
Published – June 26, 2025 11:54 am IST
