SCO Leaders Unite Against Terror After Jaffar, Pahalgam Attacks

TIANJIN: Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Monday strongly condemned the recent terrorist attacks in Pahalgam (IIOJK), on the Jaffar Express, and in Khuzdar, vowing to strengthen multilateral cooperation and adopt concrete measures to counter terrorism.

In a joint statement issued following the Council of Heads of State meeting in Tianjin, the leaders emphasised that the perpetrators, organisers, and sponsors of such attacks must be brought to justice. They reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to fighting terrorism, separatism, and extremism in all its forms.

The SCO members underlined the unacceptability of using terrorist and extremist groups for political or selfish purposes, while recognising the primary role of sovereign states in countering these threats.

Pakistan and India recently engaged in a four-day armed conflict following the April 22 Pahalgam attack. New Delhi, without offering any evidence, claimed that Islamabad was behind the attack — allegations that Pakistan has denied.

In response to India’s cross-border strikes, Pakistan had launched Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos after downing six Indian Air Force jets, including three Rafales.

After the brief war, India in June refused to sign a joint document during a high-level SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in China due to its mentioning terrorist activities in Pakistan’s Balochistan and lack of reference to the Pahalgam incident. The huddle decided not to issue a joint statement over a lack of consensus on the terrorism issue.

However, Pakistan secured a major win after the United States formally designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its militant faction, the Majeed Brigade, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO). Majeed Brigade was also listed as an alias to BLA’s previous listing as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group.

Indian Drone shot down by Pak Army in AJK’s Chhamb sector

The India-backed BLA, first designated as an SDGT in 2019, claimed responsibility for the March hijacking of the Jaffar Express train travelling from Quetta to Peshawar, which left 31 civilians and security personnel martyred and saw more than 300 passengers taken hostage.

Today’s declaration — signed by all SCO members — also highlighted the importance of multilateral cooperation in addressing terrorism and its financing, noting the outcome of the International High-Level Conference on Border Security under the Dushanbe Process. The next round of the conference will be held in New York in 2026, the statement added.

The leaders appreciated the role of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in facilitating joint counterterrorism exercises, information-sharing, and monitoring efforts. They noted the results of the joint anti-terrorism drills “Interaction – Anti-Terror – 2024” held in China’s Xinjiang region last July, and affirmed readiness to expand such initiatives.

To counter extremist ideology, the SCO members adopted a new 2026–2030 Program of Cooperation, aimed at implementing the Convention on Countering Extremism signed in Astana in 2017. The program focuses on preventing the spread of radical ideologies, religious intolerance, xenophobia, aggressive nationalism, and racial discrimination within the SCO region.

Meanwhile, the SCO member states also noted that the only possible way to ensure peace and stability in the Middle East is through a comprehensive and just settlement of the Palestinian question.

They strongly condemned the military strikes by Israel and the United States against Iran in June 2025.

“Such aggressive actions against civilian targets, including nuclear energy infrastructure, which resulted in the death of civilians, constitute a gross violation of the principles and norms of international law and the UN Charter, and an infringement on the sovereignty of Iran,” the declaration added.

The SCO members undermined regional and international security, and have serious implications for global peace and stability.

“They noted that physical nuclear safety and security of nuclear facilities must be ensured on a permanent basis, including during periods of armed conflict, in order to protect the population and the environment from harm,” it added.

During the summit aimed at putting Beijing front and centre of regional relations, Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin took turns to swipe at the West.

Xi told the SCO leaders that the global international situation was becoming more “chaotic and intertwined”. The Chinese leader also slammed “bullying behaviour” from certain countries — a veiled reference to the United States.

“The security and development tasks facing member states have become even more challenging,” he added in his address in the northern port city of Tianjin.

“With the world undergoing turbulence and transformation, we must continue to follow the Shanghai spirit … and better perform the functions of the organisation,” Xi said.

Putin used his speech to defend Russia’s Ukraine offensive, blaming the West for triggering the three-and-a-half-year conflict that has killed tens of thousands and devastated much of eastern Ukraine.

“This crisis wasn’t triggered by Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but was a result of a coup in Ukraine, which was supported and provoked by the West,” Putin said. “The second reason for the crisis is the West’s constant attempts to drag Ukraine into NATO.”

Xi Jinping Proposes SCO Development Bank to Boost Growth

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi pressed his vision for a new global security and economic order — Global Governance Initiative (GGI) — that prioritises the “Global South”, in a direct challenge to the United States.

“We must continue to take a clear stand against hegemonism and power politics, and practise true multilateralism,” Xi said, in a thinly veiled swipe at the United States and President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.

“Global governance has reached a new crossroads,” he added.

Outlining the framework, the Chinese president said the initiative rests on five principles: adhering to sovereign equality, abiding by international rule of law, practising multilateralism, adopting a people-centered approach, and focusing on real actions.

Putin, whose country has forged even closer economic and security ties with China amid the fallout from the Ukraine war, said the SCO had revived “genuine multilateralism”, with national currencies increasingly used in mutual settlements.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the SCO’s efforts would lay the political and socio-economic foundation for a new system of stability and security in Eurasia. He stressed that this system—unlike Euro-centric and Euro-Atlantic models—would genuinely reflect the interests of a wide range of countries, remain balanced, and avoid ensuring one nation’s security at the expense of others.

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the creation of a new SCO development bank, marking a significant step toward the bloc’s long-standing goal of establishing an alternative payment system to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar and blunt the impact of U.S. sanctions. Xi announced that Beijing would provide 2 billion yuan ($280 million) in free aid to member states this year, alongside 10 billion yuan in loans to the SCO banking consortium. He further pledged to establish an artificial intelligence cooperation centre for SCO nations and invited members to join China’s lunar research station project.

With additional input from Reuters and AFP.