Rajnath Singh at SCO meet says no double standards on terror

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh represented India at the 25th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, and used his address on Tuesday, 20 October, to call on member states to dismantle "the entire ecosystem of terrorism".

He said there could be no justification for terrorism and no double standards in dealing with it, and no place for those who finance, support or shelter terrorists. Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar was present at the meeting, The Tribune reported.

Key points

• What: the 25th SCO Council of Heads of Government, held in Dushanbe on 19 and 20 October 2026.
• Who: Rajnath Singh led India's delegation; the Ministry of Defence announced the visit on 18 October.
• Terrorism: he called for united action against the whole terror network, including those who fund and shelter it.
• Connectivity: he backed the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and Chabahar Port, and said projects must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity.
• India will host the first SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum by the end of this year.
• Adopted: a joint communiqué, the SCO budget for 2027 and a trade and economic action plan for 2026 to 2030.

What the SCO heads of government meeting is

The SCO is a regional group that includes India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus and four Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India became a full member in 2017.

The group has two top-level meetings each year:

The heads of government meeting is mainly about economic work. The Ministry of Defence said this year's agenda covered trade, investment, connectivity, innovation and cultural and people-to-people exchanges, along with a review of ongoing projects and the organisation's financial matters.

India usually sends a senior minister to this meeting rather than the Prime Minister. In 2024, for example, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar represented India at the meeting in Islamabad.

Rajnath Singh on terrorism: "no double standards"

Terrorism was the sharpest part of Singh's address, according to ANI, The Tribune and Greater Kashmir.

He made these points:

• The whole network must go: Not only attackers, but the people and systems that finance, support and shelter them.
• No justification: No cause or argument can justify a terrorist act.
• No double standards: Countries should not condemn terrorism in one case and excuse it in another.
• The cost of terror: He said terrorism kills civilians, scares away investment and trade, radicalises societies and takes opportunities away from young people.

The message was made with Pakistan's Ishaq Dar in the room. India has repeatedly accused Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism, which Pakistan denies. Singh did not name any country in the remarks reported so far.

India has made the same argument at earlier SCO meetings. At the SCO defence ministers' meeting in Qingdao, China, in June 2025, Singh said every act of terrorism is criminal and unjustifiable and that the SCO must unite to eliminate it, according to PIB. Dushanbe was a chance to repeat that message at the group's economic meeting, in front of the heads of delegation of every member state.

Connectivity: INSTC, Chabahar and a warning

On trade and transport, Singh backed projects that connect markets across the region. He named two that India supports:

• The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC): a land and sea route linking India with Iran, Central Asia and Russia.
• Chabahar Port in Iran, which India helps to run and which gives Indian goods a route to Afghanistan and Central Asia without going through Pakistan.

He added a clear condition: connectivity projects must be based on consultation and must respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. Projects that ignore these principles will not be sustainable, he said, according to ANI and Greater Kashmir.

India has used similar language for years to object to parts of China's Belt and Road Initiative that run through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Singh did not mention any project by name in the reported remarks.

He also called for simpler customs procedures, digital paperwork and better logistics so that goods can move more easily between SCO countries.

India's other messages at the meeting

• Civilisational Dialogue Forum: India will host the first SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum by the end of this year, and Singh invited all member states to take part. Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed the forum at the SCO summit in Tianjin in 2025, Business Standard and ANI reported.
• India's examples: He pointed to India's digital public infrastructure, its start-up ecosystem and women-led development as examples of technology-driven growth, and mentioned India-led groups such as the International Solar Alliance and the Global Biofuel Alliance.
• How the SCO should work: He said the group should work on the basis of sovereign equality, consensus and mutual respect, and that new SCO bodies should not duplicate existing ones.
• New permanent bodies: He welcomed decisions to make the SCO's Universal Centre in Tashkent and its Anti-Drug Centre in Dushanbe permanent.

What the meeting adopted

The heads of delegation signed off on three documents, according to PIB and Greater Kashmir:

1. The joint communiqué of the 25th Council of Heads of Government meeting.
2. The SCO budget for 2027.
3. The action plan for the SCO's trade and economic cooperation programme for 2026 to 2030, which Singh supported in his speech.

Meetings on the sidelines

Singh held two meetings on the sidelines in Dushanbe, The Tribune and ANI reported:

• Tajikistan's Prime Minister Qohir Rasulzoda: Singh said they discussed the long-standing civilisational ties and people-to-people links between the two countries.
• Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref: Iran is India's partner in Chabahar Port and the INSTC, the two projects Singh backed in his speech.

No agreements were reported from either meeting.

Why this matters for India

The SCO is one of the few forums where India sits at the same table as both China and Pakistan. That gives India a chance to put its position on terrorism on record in front of both, and to push for connectivity on terms that respect its own territorial claims.

For India's economy, the Central Asia link matters. Chabahar and the INSTC are India's main routes to Central Asian markets that avoid Pakistan, and support for them inside the SCO helps keep those projects moving. India's hosting of the first Civilisational Dialogue Forum also gives it a visible role in the group's work later this year.

India's message in Dushanbe was the same one it has carried to every SCO meeting: cooperation on trade and connectivity, but no compromise on terrorism.