PM Modi and President Putin walking past Shehbaz Sharif completely ignoring his presence

The condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), and the inclusion of strong language against terrorism in the Tianjin declaration, marks a significant diplomatic achievement for India.

The attack in Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 26 innocent civilians, underscored the continuing threat of terrorism in the region and the human cost India has borne for over four decades.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address to the summit, passionately reminded member states that terrorism is not just an Indian problem but a global menace, stressing repeatedly that "double standards" in dealing with terrorism weaken the collective fight against it.

By successfully pressing the SCO, a bloc that includes Pakistan—a country frequently accused by India of supporting terrorism across borders—New Delhi ensured that its message resonated within the joint declaration, thereby putting Pakistan diplomatically on the defensive.

The statement by the SCO strongly denounced terrorism in all forms and manifestations, while unequivocally rejecting attempts to use terrorist, separatist, and extremist groups for mercenary purposes.

Importantly, the inclusion of language emphasising that perpetrators, organisers, and sponsors of such attacks must be brought to justice reflects India’s growing success in internationalising its stance against terror havens and proxy wars.

This was particularly significant given the historic reluctance in such forums to directly challenge Pakistan’s role or its alleged policy of harbouring and supporting militant groups. By aligning SCO’s official position with India’s call for “zero tolerance” and rejection of “double standards,” the summit advanced New Delhi’s longstanding agenda of naming and shaming state-backed terrorism without explicitly singling out Pakistan.

Equally crucial were the optics and broader geopolitical dynamics at play during the Tianjin summit. Prime Minister Modi’s interactions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping sent a carefully crafted message of solidarity among Eurasian powers in the face of Western, particularly American, pressures.

Despite current global complexities and occasional tensions in India-China relations, the visible camaraderie between Modi, Putin, and Xi highlighted India’s independent foreign policy stance and its reluctance to be seen as falling into any geopolitical bloc.

The United States’ trade hostilities, led by President Donald Trump’s tariff measures, provided the backdrop in which India, China, and Russia projected a shared front of cooperation and defiance of external coercion.

Modi’s warm personal engagement with both leaders, including a symbolic hand-in-hand walk with Putin towards Xi, reinforced India’s balancing position: keen on safeguarding its strategic ties with Moscow and simultaneously underscoring its comfort working in close proximity to Beijing at multilateral forums.

For India, the combination of diplomatic gains was twofold—first, in embedding its anti-terror narrative at the heart of the SCO’s agenda, and second, in showcasing India as a confident player in a multipolar world.

The summit’s outcomes lend credence to Modi’s assertion that terrorism remains an existential threat to humanity, transcending national boundaries and ideologies.

India effectively used the Pahalgam tragedy, not only to draw sympathy but also to galvanise consensus against "state-sponsored" terrorism. This strengthens New Delhi’s case globally against safe havens and cross-border infiltration, an issue where Pakistan predictably finds itself isolated.

In conclusion, the SCO summit at Tianjin proved to be a stage where India not only voiced its immediate concerns over terrorism but also rewrote the regional narrative by enshrining in the final declaration a principle it has long advocated—no nation can afford selective condemnation.

The Pahalgam attack, tragic as it was, became the rallying point for New Delhi to extract international acknowledgment of its suffering and for the SCO to collectively stress the importance of rejecting duplicity in the global war on terror.

Coupled with the strong optics of Modi’s engagement with Russia and China, India emerges from this summit with reinforced credibility as both a victim of terrorism and a proactive shaper of the global discourse on security, peace, and stability.

Agencies