'No double standards on terrorism': PM Modi's message at SCO summit in presence of Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif
At the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, India said there should be no double standards on terrorism and called for dismantling terrorism's "entire ecosystem," including financing, recruitment, and safe havens
India stated that terrorism cannot be treated as a strategic asset by any nation
The conflicts in West Asia were flagged for their impact on global energy security and trade routes, with India calling for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve international tensions
Drug trafficking was highlighted as a serious regional security threat
The statements were made in a plenary session attended by leaders of member states, including Pakistan's delegation
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) — Structure and India's Membership
The SCO is a permanent intergovernmental organisation, founded on June 15, 2001 in Shanghai, evolving from the "Shanghai Five" grouping (Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan) formed in 1996, with Uzbekistan's accession triggering the transition to the SCO. Its Charter was signed in 2002 and entered into force in September 2003.
India's statements on terrorism were delivered at the SCO plenary — the forum's founding mandate explicitly includes combating the "three evils" of terrorism, separatism, and extremism, making counter-terrorism cooperation central to its agenda.
Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) — SCO's Counter-Terrorism Mechanism
RATS is the SCO's permanent executive body dedicated to counter-terrorism cooperation among member states, established in 2004 and headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (distinct from the SCO's main Secretariat in Beijing).
Key Details
- RATS facilitates intelligence-sharing, coordination on terrorism financing, and joint counter-terrorism exercises among member states
- Its Executive Committee began operations on January 17, 2004
- India has used the RATS platform to press for consistent, non-selective action against terrorism by all member states, since some SCO members retain close ties with groups India designates as terrorist threats
India's call for dismantling the "entire ecosystem" of terrorism — financing, recruitment, and safe havens — maps directly onto RATS's institutional mandate, and reflects India's long-standing position that all SCO members must apply counter-terrorism commitments uniformly rather than selectively.
India's "No Double Standards" Doctrine on Terrorism
India's consistent diplomatic position across multilateral forums (SCO, BRICS, UN) is that terrorism cannot be justified, distinguished into "good" or "bad" categories, or treated as an instrument of state policy — a position it has repeated at successive summits given Pakistan's continued presence in the same forums.
Key Details
- India has previously used FATF (Financial Action Task Force) processes to highlight terrorism-financing concerns; Pakistan was on the FATF "grey list" from 2018 to 2022 for inadequate action against terror financing linked to groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed
- India's position rests on the absence of a bilateral dialogue track with Pakistan since cross-border terrorism concerns intensified, even as both countries remain members of the same multilateral groupings (SCO, SAARC in principle)
- Bilateral engagement with Pakistan is separately governed by the Shimla Agreement (1972), which commits both countries to resolving disputes bilaterally — distinct from multilateral platforms like the SCO where both are members without a bilateral dialogue channel
The Bishkek summit illustrates the distinction between bilateral and multilateral diplomatic engagement — India and Pakistan's leaderships were both present at the same multilateral forum without a bilateral meeting, consistent with India's position that terrorism must first be addressed before normalised bilateral dialogue resumes.
- SCO founded: June 15, 2001, Shanghai; Charter in force: September 2003
- India and Pakistan became full SCO members: 2017 (Astana Summit)
- SCO Secretariat: Beijing; RATS Executive Committee: Tashkent, established 2004
- 26th SCO Summit: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, held August 31–September 1, 2026, marking the SCO's 25th anniversary
- SCO current full members: China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Belarus
- Pakistan's FATF grey-list period for terror-financing deficiencies: 2018–2022