Goa Conclave: Jaishankar talks tough on terror, Bhutto on collective security

Benaulim (Goa): The channel of finances for terrorist activities must be blocked without any distinction and terrorism in all its forms, including cross-border terrorism, must be stopped, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday at a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) here in presence of his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. Jaishankar greeted all of them with a namaste and there was no handshake with any of the dignitaries on their arrival at the venue.

🇮🇳EAM S. Jaishankar greeted 🇵🇰Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with a “Namastey” on Friday in Goa at a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Zardari is here to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (#SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) and… pic.twitter.com/9Bu1hwFIe9

— Diplomat Times (@diplomattimes) May 5, 2023

Talks tough on terror

In his address at the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers' meeting, Jaishankar said taking the eyes off terrorism would be detrimental to the security interests of the grouping and that when the world was engaged in facing the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, the menace of terrorism continued unabated.

The external affairs minister, chairing the conclave, said India firmly believes that there can be no justification for terrorism and noted that combating the menace is one of the original mandates of the SCO.

"We must not allow anybody -- individual or State -- to hide behind non-State actors," he said.

"Taking our eyes off the menace would be detrimental to our security interests. We firmly believe that there can be no justification for terrorism and it must be stopped in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism," Jaishankar said.

"The channel of finances for terrorist activities must be seized and blocked without distinction. Members need not be reminded that combating terrorism is one of the original mandates of the SCO," he added.

Afghanistan will be the ‘center of our attention'

The unfolding situation in Afghanistan remains at the "center of our attention". "Our efforts should be directed towards the welfare of the Afghan people. Our immediate priorities include providing humanitarian assistance, ensuring a truly inclusive and representative government, combating terrorism and drug trafficking, and preserving the rights of women, children, and minorities," he said.

"Our efforts should be directed towards the welfare of the Afghan people. Our immediate priorities include providing humanitarian assistance, ensuring a truly inclusive and representative government, combating terrorism and drug trafficking, and preserving the rights of women, children, and minorities," he said.

In his address, Jaishankar noted that current crises facing the world have exposed a credibility and trust deficit in the ability of global institutions to manage challenges in a timely and effective manner. He said reform and modernisation of the SCO will aid a more contemporary outlook which India will actively support.

Collective responsibility for security

Bhutto-Zardari said the "collective security of our peoples is our joint responsibility. Terrorism continues to threaten global security," he said. "Let's not get caught up in weaponizing terrorism for diplomatic point scoring," he said, in remarks that appeared to take a pot-shot at the Indian side.

"When I speak on this topic, I do so not only as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan whose people have suffered the most in terms of the number of attacks and number of casualties. I also speak as the son whose mother was assassinated at the hands of terrorists," the Pakistan foreign minister said. Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated by a suicide bomber in Rawalpindi in 2007.

Bhutto-Zardari said he and his country are firmly committed to being part of regional and global efforts for eradicating terrorism.

"This requires not only a comprehensive approach but also a collective approach. It demands we address the root causes as well as the threats posed by specific groups. It requires that we let this challenge unite us to fight it rather than divide us to become its victim. Our success requires us to isolate this issue from geo-political partisanship," he added.

SCO member nations

The meeting at a luxury hotel in this beach resort was attended by Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang, Russia's Sergey Lavrov, and their counterparts from other SCO member nations. There are also efforts being made to get Iran and Belarus as full member states of the sCO

Currently, Chinese and Russian are the two official languages of the SCO and there are constructive steps being taken to make English the third official language.

The SCO is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest trans-regional international organisations. The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

India and Pakistan became permanent members in 2017

India was made an observer at the SCO in 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping, which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region. India has shown a keen interest in deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.

Inputs from PTI