Sushma Swaraj slams Pakistan at SCO meet in China

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif was also present at the meeting.

EAM Sushma Swaraj/ File image

Beijing: India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday slammed Pakistan for sheltering terrorists and urged the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to act against the countries that promote terrorism. Without a direct reference to Pakistan, Sushma Swaraj said the world community together must "wipe-out this scourge from the face of the earth". "There are a number of challenges that are being faced by the world today, foremost being the threat of global terrorism and the imminent need to build a strong security architecture to combat it. "Terrorism is an enemy of the basic human rights: of life, peace and prosperity," she said at the foreign ministers meet of the SCO here. Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif was also present at the meeting. "We strongly believe that our fight against terrorism should not only seek to eliminate terrorists but should also identify and take strong measures against states that encourage, support and finance terrorism and provide sanctuary to terrorists and terror groups," the Indian Minister said. "The criminal terrorist militias are not impeded by borders as they seek to destroy the architecture of international stability and build walls of fear in societies that believe in pluralism. "Maiming and killing innocent lives indiscriminately, constitutes the most blatant violation of human rights. We have to work together to wipe-out this scourge from the face of the earth. "In order to realise this objective, we must unite across our differences, strengthen our resolve and script an effective strategy against terror. "We welcome the clarity shown by the SCO on terrorism from its inception," Sushma Swaraj added. The SCO is a Eurasian intergovernmental organisation, the creation of which was announced in 2001 in Shanghai by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism. India, along with Pakistan, were granted full member status at the SCO summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, in June 2017.