'Nations supporting terrorism must be held responsible': Modi at SCO summit

The Indian prime minister on Thursday raised the issue of cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan during his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping here and said India expects "concrete action" by Islamabad to create an atmosphere free of terror for the resumption of dialogue.

Picture: (@MEAIndia - Twitter)

Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan): PM Modi sought cooperation in fight against terrorism at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit here on Friday. In an oblique reference to Pakistan which is part of the summit, Modi said "countries sheltering and harbouring terrorists must be held accountable." India stood for a terrorism-free society, he said. To combat the menace of terrorism, countries will have to come out of their narrow purview to unite against it, Modi said in the presence of his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan. Prime Minister Modi also called on the SCO member states to cooperate under the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) against terrorism. He also urged the SCO leaders to organise a global conference on terrorism, reported PTI. Modi spoke about his recent visit to a church in Sri Lanka which had come under a deadly attack by terrorists last month. He also extended support for Afghanistan in its "endeavours towards peace and prosperity for its citizens".

At #SCOSummit2019 Indian PM @narendramodi gives out a clear message on the common challenge of #Terrorism. @PMOIndia said, those who harbour, finance and promote terrorism need to be held accountable for that. @abpnewstv pic.twitter.com/r8LZ1IPfPn

— Pranay Upadhyaya (@JournoPranay) June 14, 2019

PM Narendra Modi has given Pakistan the snub at the SCO summit by not exchanging any pleasantries with his counterpart Imran Khan at the summit.  India had asserted  that Modi will not have any kind of interaction with Khan except unavoidable public exchange. The Indian prime minister on Thursday raised the issue of cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan during his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping here. He said India expects "concrete action" by Islamabad so that an atmosphere free of terror for the resumption of dialogue is created. Modi told Xi Jinping that his country's "all-weather friend" Pakistan must take concrete action against terrorism as "proposed" to it by India and that his efforts to develop peaceful bilateral relations with the western neighbour had been "derailed". On the other hand, Imran Khan has maintained the emphasis should be on peace and resolving differences through dialogue. Modi arrived in the Kyrgyz capital on Thursday for the two-day SCO summit. The SCO is a China-led 8-member economic and security bloc with India and Pakistan being admitted to the grouping in 2017.