Fight Against Three Evils - Terrorism, Separatism And Extremism - A Priority In SCO: Jaishankar

Astana: With terrorism becoming a threat to regional and global peace, the perpetrators, facilitators, financiers and sponsors of heinous acts of terrorism “need to be identified and punished,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, in a veiled jibe at Pakistan. In a recent interview with Astana-based Kazinform News Agency, he also emphasised that the "fight against the three evils, terrorism, separatism and extremism is a priority in SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation)".

The 24th Meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State was held on July 4 in the Kazakh capital Astana, under the presidency of Kazakhstan. Jaishankar led the Indian delegation to the Summit. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also attended the summit. “There is no doubt that the major challenge faced by the world today is terrorism. It has become a threat to regional and global peace, and it demands urgent action from all of us,” he said. “Combating terrorism requires a very comprehensive approach - not just the perpetrators of heinous acts of terrorism, but the facilitators, financiers and sponsors of terrorism - they all need to be identified and punished,” Jaishankar said.

The minister emphasised that he “strongly believes” that SCO through the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) has a “reasonable standing” to propose measures against terrorism in the region. Jaishankar said he is happy that Kazakhstan, during its chair, negotiated an updated programme to combat terrorism, separatism, and extremism, which was adopted at the Astana Summit, according to the transcript of the interview shared by the Ministry of External Affairs.

During the SCO New Delhi Summit last year, one of the two joint statements adopted was on 'Countering Radicalisation leading to Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism,' which included various elements of radicalisation – including ideology, media campaign, as well as radical and terrorist content on the internet, he said and added, “Kazakhstan, during their chairmanship, carried forward the spirit of that joint statement.” “The updated programme to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism is critical and timely. But I want to emphasise that what is more important is the actual implementation of the programme that we have now successfully drawn up, which includes an unambiguous commitment by all the Member States to getting rid of all forms and manifestations of terrorism in the region, including cross-border terrorism,” the Minister said.

Speaking about the importance and potential impact of the two significant initiatives, related to terrorism and the SCO Anti-Drug Strategy, adopted at the Astana Summit, Jaishankar said, “Drug trafficking is another issue that we need to combat together, and is very closely related to two other issues in the region -- terrorism and stability in Afghanistan.” “There is a consensus on the establishment of an Anti-Drug Centre in Dushanbe. This is a welcome move and is much needed. The Anti-Drug Centre together with the proposed Universal Centre will be an effective weapon in combating drug trafficking,” Jaishankar added.

The Astana Declaration issued after the July 4 summit also said, “The Member States are unanimous in recognising the need to improve SCO mechanisms to counter security challenges and threats and expand specialised cooperation in the fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism, as well as drug trafficking, arms smuggling and other types of transnational organized crime.” “Today, after decades of taking measures against terrorism in global forums, including through the UN Security Council, terrorism continues to be a threat to the region. The UN-designated terror outfits are still functioning in the region,” he said, referring to wanted Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists like Hafiz Saeed receiving state support.

The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.