Modi at SCO urges united stand against terror, warns against double standards

At the SCO summit, Narendra Modi urged member states to unite against terrorism and reject double standards. His remarks, made before Pakistan and China leaders, tied regional security to sovereignty, dialogue and practical cooperation.Image used for representational purposes onlyPrime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called on the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to take a united stand against terrorism, saying countries that use it as an instrument of policy must be confronted and that there should be no "double standards" in the fight against terror financing, recruitment and safe havens. Speaking at the SCO summit in the presence of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders, Modi said terrorism remained a serious challenge to humanity.Modi also spoke about the impact of the West Asia crisis, the need for disputes to be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy, and the importance of connectivity projects respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. He said the time had come to move India's three pillars for the SCO — security, connectivity and opportunity — from vision to concrete outcomes."Terrorism continues to pose a serious challenge to humanity as a whole. In the fight against terrorism, we cannot remain confined to an action-reaction approach," Modi said. "We must dismantle the entire ecosystem of terrorist financing, recruitment, radicalisation, and safe havens. We must speak with one voice and make it clear that there can be no place for double standards on this serious issue." He added, "We must send a strong message to countries that use terrorism as an instrument of policy and provide safe haven and support to terrorists that terrorism can never be a strategic asset for anyone."Referring to the situation in West Asia, Modi said its effects were being felt far beyond the region. "In today's interconnected world, the scope of security has become even broader. The crisis in West Asia has demonstrated that a conflict in one region does not remain confined to that region," he said. "Its impact is felt across the world, affecting energy security, maritime trade, and supply chains. The countries of the Global South bear the greatest brunt of such disruptions." He added, "Therefore, India has consistently called for all tensions and conflicts to be resolved not on the battlefield, but through dialogue and diplomacy." The prime minister also linked peace in Eurasia to stability in Afghanistan and said India would continue its development and humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. On connectivity, he said India supported efforts that connected markets, facilitated trade and opened new avenues for development, but added: "However, it is equally essential that such efforts respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. This is also the fundamental spirit of the SCO Charter." He said connectivity should go beyond roads, railways and air corridors to include simpler customs processes, digital documentation and more efficient logistics networks.Modi said peace and security were the first requirement for turning the SCO's goals into results. He said the grouping's cooperation should directly reach people and that people-to-people ties should remain at the heart of its work over the next 25 years. "The true measure of our success should be how many new opportunities our efforts create for young people, how many new markets open up for our entrepreneurs, how much our farmers benefit from technology, and how much better the lives of our citizens become," he said, summing up India's push for security, connectivity and opportunity within the SCO. With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 1, 2026 18:16 IST