Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin on September 1, 2025, strongly raised the issue of the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 innocent civilians.

Referring to it as one of the most brutal episodes of terrorism that India has faced, he said that the attack was not merely a strike against India but a direct assault on humanity and a challenge to the shared values of peace, coexistence, and human dignity that member nations of the SCO claim to uphold.

Modi emphasised that India has endured the scourge of terrorism for over four decades, paying a heavy price in terms of lives lost and countless families shattered. He reminded the gathering that terror has disproportionately impacted developing societies, making progress and stability a constant struggle.

In his strongly worded address, which came in the presence of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Modi indirectly but unambiguously targeted Pakistan without naming it. He questioned whether the open support and safe havens provided to terrorism by certain countries could be tolerated in the international arena.

He asserted that when terrorism is deliberately fostered as a state policy, it undermines not only regional stability but also the entire global order. Stressing that there can be “no double standards” on terrorism, Modi argued that categorizing terrorists as “bad” or “good,” depending on political convenience, weakens collective global resolve and emboldens extremists.

He further observed that the Pahalgam attack was a grim reminder that terrorist groups continue to test the resilience of peaceful societies, and therefore, member nations must not shy away from holding those who sponsor terrorism accountable.

Modi also acknowledged the expressions of solidarity and support extended by several SCO partners after the Pahalgam tragedy, stating that India values its friends who stood by it in this critical hour of grief. However, he urged the SCO to go beyond expressions of sympathy and to come together as a united front in the fight against terrorism.

He appealed to the gathering to adopt zero tolerance as a guiding principle, warning that selective approaches and political expediency would only embolden perpetrators. Citing the deep scars caused by decades of terror strikes in India, he pointed out how thousands of families have been destroyed, with children growing up as orphans and mothers losing their sons to senseless acts of violence.

Such tragedies, he said, underline the indispensable need for joint action under meaningful multilateral frameworks like the SCO.

The Prime Minister’s remarks, delivered against the sensitive backdrop of the Pahalgam killings, significantly heightened the diplomatic focus on India’s long-standing grievances against Pakistan’s role in terrorism.

His speech also reframed terrorism as not merely a national security issue confined to India, but as a shared humanitarian crisis that transcends borders. By doing so, Modi sought to isolate state sponsors of terrorism while rallying members of the SCO, including Russia, China, and Central Asian nations, to develop a unified stance that goes beyond rhetoric.

His intervention is also seen as a clear strategic message that India will actively use global forums, especially those where Pakistan is a participant, to expose and challenge double standards, thus ensuring that terrorism remains a central issue in international security dialogues.

Based On ET News Report