SCO must work unitedly to dismantle terror ecosystem: PM Modi
At the 26th SCO Summit in Bishkek, India's address called on member states to speak "in one voice" that there can be no room for double standards on terrorism
The address called for dismantling the entire ecosystem sustaining terrorism, including its financing, recruitment, radicalisation and safe havens
The remarks were made during a roundtable discussion attended by heads of state/government of other SCO members
The statement reiterated a long-standing Indian position that states providing shelter or support to terrorist groups should not be allowed to treat terrorism as a tool of policy
SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) — The Institutional Counter-Terror Mechanism
RATS is the SCO's dedicated permanent body for coordinating action against terrorism, separatism and extremism among member states — described within the SCO as its "three evils" framework. It is the institutional mechanism India references when calling for unified counter-terrorism action within the SCO.
Key Details
- Established 2004, originally headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan; headquarters shifted to Moscow in 2022
- Functions: information-sharing on terrorist/extremist groups and individuals, coordination of joint counter-terror exercises (e.g., "Peaceful Mission"), and maintaining a joint list of organisations designated as terrorist, separatist or extremist by member states
- Distinct from the SCO Secretariat (Beijing), which handles general administrative/political coordination
- India has used RATS as a channel to share information on Pakistan-based terror groups, though effectiveness is constrained by RATS decisions requiring consensus among all 10 member states, including states India has direct disputes with
The call to dismantle terrorism's "financing, recruitment, radicalisation and safe havens" tracks RATS's stated mandate precisely, while the call for unity "in one voice" signals India's continuing difficulty securing unanimous SCO consensus given differing member positions on specific groups and safe havens.
India's "No Double Standards" Doctrine on Terrorism
India's diplomatic position — that no distinction should be drawn between "good" and "bad" terrorists based on their targets — has been a consistent theme across multilateral platforms (UN, SCO, G20) and is often read as an implicit reference to cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan-based groups.
Key Details
- India has long championed a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the UN General Assembly, first proposed by India in 1996, seeking a universal legal definition of terrorism — still pending adoption due to disagreement among states over exemptions for "national liberation movements" and state actors
- FATF (Financial Action Task Force, established 1989) is the global standard-setter for anti-terror-financing and anti-money-laundering measures; Pakistan was on the FATF "grey list" from 2018-2022 for terror-financing deficiencies before being removed
- UNSC Resolution 1373 (2001), adopted after 9/11, obligates all UN member states to criminalise terrorist financing and deny safe haven to terrorists — the binding global framework India frequently cites alongside its "no double standards" position
- The SCO's own founding rationale (from the 1996 Shanghai Five onward) centred on combating the "three evils" — terrorism, separatism, extremism — giving India a natural platform to press this position
India's SCO remarks reflect the same "no double standards" formulation used in its long-pending push for a UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, positioning the SCO roundtable as one more forum for this recurring diplomatic ask.
SCO Counter-Terrorism Cooperation vs Bilateral/Other Multilateral Mechanisms
It is useful to distinguish RATS-based SCO cooperation from India's other counter-terror mechanisms to avoid conflating similar-sounding structures.
Key Details
- RATS (SCO, multilateral, 10 members) coordinates information-sharing and joint designations among SCO states
- FATF (global, 40 members plus 2 regional bodies) is a financial standard-setting body, not an intelligence-sharing or operational counter-terror body
- Bilateral India-specific mechanisms include Joint Working Groups on Counter-Terrorism (e.g., India-US JWG on Counter-Terrorism, since 2000) — distinct from any multilateral SCO channel
- UNSC's 1267 Sanctions Committee (established 1999) is the UN's own terrorist-designation and asset-freeze mechanism, operating independently of SCO/RATS designations
India's push for SCO unity on terrorism operates alongside, not instead of, these other channels — a useful distinguishing point for Mains answers on India's multi-layered counter-terrorism diplomacy.
- SCO RATS established: 2004, Tashkent; headquarters moved to Moscow: 2022
- SCO's founding rationale: combating "three evils" — terrorism, separatism, extremism (from 1996 Shanghai Five)
- India first proposed the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the UN: 1996 — still not adopted
- UNSC Resolution 1373: adopted 2001, obligates states to criminalise terror financing and deny safe haven
- UNSC 1267 Sanctions Committee: established 1999, for terrorist designations and asset freezes
- FATF: established 1989; standard-setter on anti-money-laundering and counter-terror financing
- 26th SCO Summit: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, August 31-September 1, 2026, marking 25 years since SCO's founding