In a press briefing, when asked about Singh's stand, Jaishankar said the Defence Minister's view on the matter was correct.(image:x.com/DrSJaishankar)

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Friday backed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh‘s refusal to sign the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) joint statement because it did not contain a reference to terrorism.

In a press briefing, when asked about Singh’s stand, Jaishankar said the Defence Minister’s view on the matter was correct. Since the SCO’s objective was to fight terrorism, and when a member country conveyed it would not accept any mention of terrorism, the Defence Minister then communicated that the outcome document was not acceptable to India, he highlighted.

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“In the discussion on outcome document of the defence ministers’ meeting, one country — you can guess which one — said ‘no we don’t want reference to that [terrorism]’,” Jaishankar said.

Though Jaishankar did not refer Pakistan’s name explicitly, it was understood in the veiled attack.

Singh on Thursday refused to accept the statement following the omission of the Pahalgam terror attack and its failure to address India’s concerns over Pakistan-backed cross-border terrorism. On the otherhand, it mentioned Pakistan’s Balochistan province and the Jaffar Express hijacking in Pakistan by the Balochistan Liberation Army in March.

Since Organisation runs by unanimity, with Singh’s move, the two-day defence ministers meeting ended without a joint statement. Apart from India, SCO member countries are China,  Iran, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

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Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the SCO summit, Defence Minister held a “constructive and forward-looking exchange of views” with his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun. Both leaders discussed the restarting of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and emphasised the need to avoid “adding new complexities” to the relationship between the two countries