Rajnath Singh Condemns Cross-Border Terrorism at SCO Meeting

At the SCO Defence Ministers' meeting in Qingdao, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh denounced countries using cross-border terrorism as a policy, citing the Pahalgam attack. He highlighted India's proactive measures like Operation Sindoor and called for collective SCO efforts to counter terrorism and promote regional security.

In a powerful address at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' meeting in Qingdao, Rajnath Singh, India's Defence Minister, strongly condemned nations employing cross-border terrorism as a policy tool. Singh's pointed remarks follow the April terror attack in Pahalgam, underscoring the urgency of the issue.

Singh specifically highlighted the tragic events of April 22 in Jammu and Kashmir, where an attack by 'The Resistance Front', a proxy for Lashkar-e-Taiba, resulted in the deaths of 26 civilians, including a Nepali national. The victims were reportedly targeted based on religious identity, Singh emphasized.

India, exercising its 'right to defend', launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 to dismantle such terrorist infrastructures. The Defence Minister affirmed India's zero tolerance for terrorism, noting that actions like these prove significant terror epicentres are no longer sheltered from retribution.

(With inputs from agencies.)