Tianjin: In a significant diplomatic breakthrough for India, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has strongly condemned the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and aligned itself with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to reject “double standards” in the fight against terrorism. The summit declaration, released on Sunday, reflected New Delhi’s longstanding concerns about selective approaches to terror, marking an important moment for the bloc that includes Pakistan as a member.
The SCO’s joint communiqué expressed deep sympathy and condolences to the families of the 26 victims who lost their lives in the brutal assault in Jammu and Kashmir. “The Member States strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, expressing their heartfelt solidarity with the bereaved families and the injured,” the declaration stated. It added that the perpetrators, organizers, and sponsors of such attacks must be brought to justice without delay.
The wording of the SCO statement mirrored Prime Minister Modi’s address to the summit, where he underlined that “terrorism, separatism and radicalism are a challenge to humanity as a whole” and warned that double standards in dealing with terror cannot be accepted. By embedding this principle into the final declaration, the bloc signaled its consensus on a position India has long championed at international forums.
What makes this development particularly noteworthy is Pakistan’s participation in the consensus. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was present in Tianjin when the declaration was adopted. Despite Islamabad’s continued history of supporting cross-border militant networks, the statement commits Pakistan at least formally to the SCO’s united rejection of selective approaches to terrorism. For India, this represents a symbolic yet important diplomatic win, projecting its narrative of “no compromise on terror” to a multilateral stage.
Beyond the Pahalgam attack, the declaration reaffirmed the SCO’s commitment to combating terrorism, extremism, and separatism in all forms. It stressed that terror groups must never be used for “mercenary purposes” or political leverage, and emphasized the role of sovereign states and their institutions in countering such threats. This framework dovetails with India’s consistent argument that terrorism cannot be compartmentalized or tolerated under any justification.
By echoing India’s call, the SCO has elevated the debate on terrorism within Eurasia, reinforcing the notion that security and stability are indispensable to development. Analysts suggest that the bloc’s clear articulation could strengthen India’s efforts to rally collective global pressure on states that provide safe havens or tacit support to terror groups.
The adoption of India’s language at Tianjin, therefore, is more than symbolic it represents a hardening consensus that terrorism is a shared threat requiring shared resolve, leaving little room for double standards.