India declined to sign the final joint communiqué at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting held in Qingdao, China. The main reason behind this decision was the absence of any mention of terrorism, the recent Pahalgam attack, or the Balochistan situation in the document. Contrary to media claims that Balochistan was mentioned while Pahalgam was ignored, sources have clarified that none of the terms — “Balochistan,” “Pahalgam,” or even “Terrorism” — appeared in the draft declaration.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh took a firm stance during the meeting, saying that SCO member states must not adopt a double standard on terrorism, and should not hesitate to name and condemn those who support terrorism. He emphasised that peace and security in the region depend on a collective and uncompromising fight against terrorism.
In Delhi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar confirmed that a member country had insisted on removing any reference to terrorism from the joint document. While he did not name the country, he hinted that its identity was obvious. Jaishankar reiterated that SCO operates on consensus, and if even one country objects, the entire group cannot proceed with the declaration.
The Ministry of External Affairs issued an official statement explaining that due to a lack of consensus on the inclusion of terrorism, the joint declaration was not adopted. India had strongly advocated for the inclusion of terrorism-related concerns and called on SCO members to stand united and hold sponsors of terrorism accountable.
