National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who attended a meeting of top security officials from member nations of the Shanghai Corporation Organisation (SCO) in Dushanbe on Wednesday, proposed an action plan against Pakistan-based terrorist organisations Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeT) as part of SCO framework.
During the SCO meet, National Security Advisors of member countries pledged cooperation in the joint fight against international terrorism, extremism and separatism.
Doval strongly condemned “terrorism in all forms and manifestations” and said that perpetrators of terrorism, including cross-border terror attacks, should be expeditiously brought to justice.
He said there is a need to monitor new technologies used by terrorists, including drones for smuggling of weapons and misuse of dark web, artificial intelligence, blockchain and social media. He added that there is a need for full Implementation of UN resolutions and targeted sanctions against UN designated terrorist individuals and entities.
He also emphasised on the adoption of international standards to counter terror-financing, including an MOU between SCO and Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Though India became SCO Member in 2017, Doval said, it has physical, spiritual, cultural and philosophical inter-linkages for centuries with countries that now make up SCO. There is a need to preserve gains made in last two decades in Afghanistan and give top priority to welfare of its people, he said. India fully supports the SCO Contact Group on Afghanistan, which should be more active, he added.
He also said that greater connectivity, including through initiatives like Chahbahar, INSTC, Regional Air Corridors and Ashgabat Agreement, always leads to economic gains and building trust, however, connectivity must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Pakistani National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf and Afghan NSA Hamdullah Mohib were among the participants at the in-person meeting that is discussing key regional security issues, including the evolving situation in Afghanistan.
The SCO, seen as a counterweight to NATO, is an eight-member economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations. India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017. SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
India has shown keen interest in deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence. India was made an observer at the SCO in 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.
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