EAM Jaishankar flags Pahalgam attack at SCO meet

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday (July 15) said at the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council in Tianjin that the Pahalgam terror attack was a deliberate act to undermine the tourism economy in Jammu and Kashmir and was also aimed at creating religious divide.

UN Security Council condemned Pahalgam attack

“Recently, we in India witnessed a graphic example in the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on 22 April 2025. It was deliberately conducted to undermine the tourism economy of Jammu and Kashmir, while sowing a religious divide,” said Jaishankar.

The External Affairs Minister also said that some of the SCO members were also part of the UN Security Council, which condemned the Pahalgam terror attack in the strongest terms. He further stated that it underlined the need to bring the supporters and sponsors of terrorism to justice.

“The UN Security Council, of which some of us are currently members, issued a statement that condemned it in the strongest terms and ‘underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice’,” said Jashankar.

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SCO must remain true to its objectives

He emphasised that the SCO must remain true to its “founding objectives” and take an “uncompromising position” in this regard.

“We meet at a time of considerable disorder in the international system. In the last few years, we have seen more conflicts, competition and coercion. Economic instability is also visibly on the rise. The challenge before us is to stabilise the global order, de-risk various dimensions and through it all, address longstanding challenges that threaten our collective interests,” added Jaishankar.

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Afghanistan on SCO agenda

He also said that Afghanistan has long been on the SCO agenda, adding that the compulsions for regional stability are buttressed by the group's concern for the well-being of the Afghan people.

“The international community, particularly SCO members, must therefore step up with development assistance. India, for its part, will certainly do so,” added Jaishankar.

He also said that India has taken several initiatives in the SCO in domains ranging from startups and innovation to traditional medicine and digital public infrastructure.

“We will continue to positively approach new ideas and proposals that are genuinely for our collective good. It is essential that such cooperation is based on mutual respect, sovereign equality and in accordance with territorial integrity and sovereignty of member states,” added Jaishankar.