‘No place for double standards’: Rajnath Singh’s sharp swipe at Pakistan during SCO meet, Khwaja Asif in attendance

In a scathing attack on Pakistan at Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Defence Ministers' meeting in China's Qingdao, Rajnath Singh on Thursday asserted, “peace cannot co-exist with terrorism” and also urged the members of the SCO to condemn terrorism.

What Rajnath Singh said? 

Singh said, "I believe that the biggest challenges that we are facing in our region are related to peace, security and trust-deficit. The root cause of these problems is increasing radicalisation, extremism and terrorism. Peace and prosperity cannot co-exist with terrorism and proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction in the hands of non-state actors and terror groups. Dealing with these challenges require decisive action and we must unite in our fight against these evils for our collective safety and security"

He goes on to add,“...Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of policy and provide shelter to terrorists. There should be no place for such double standards. SCO should not hesitate to criticise such nations.”

"On 22 April 2025, the terror group 'The Resistance Front' carried out a dastardly and heinous attack on innocent tourists at Pahalgam in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. 26 innocent civilans, 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 UN designated terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba claimed responsibility for the attack."

"Any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivation whenever, wherever and by whom-so-ever committed. SCO members must condemn this evil unequivocally."

"We reiterate the need to hold the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of reprehensible acts of terrorism, including cross border terrorism accountable and bring them to justice," said Singh

Talking about Operation Sindoor, he said, "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 7th May 2025 successfully launched Operation Sindoor to dismantle cross border terrorist infrastructure."

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday arrived in the Chinese port city of Qingdao to attend a conclave of the SCO.

It is the first visit to China by a senior Indian minister after the ties came under severe strain following the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh that began in May 2020.

Singh was received at the Qingdao airport by Indian ambassador Pradeep Kumar Rawat.

Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif is also attending the summit.