Defence Minister’s Sharp Warning At Bishkek SCO Summit, But Terror Message Attracts Attention

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh delivered a sharp message on terrorism at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He asserted that countries sheltering terror infrastructure cannot expect immunity from consequences. The Defence Minister, however, attracted attention with his statement that “terrorism has no nationality and no religion”. Though he mentioned India’s hard-hitting response to the Pahalgam terror attack by way of Operation Sindoor, the statement is being seen as one which is at a considerable tangent to the Modi government’s official stance on terror. The Press Information Bureau (PIB), in fact, translated the quote as “Terrorism has no nationality, no theology” in its official release on the speech. The minister added that the world is facing “unprecedented crises” marked by frequent conflicts and loss of lives, and called for introspection by security leaders. He also cautioned against attempts to undermine the rules-based international order, arguing that the real crisis lies in the tendency to question established norms rather than the absence of a global framework. “We need a world where differences do not become disputes and disputes do not precede disasters,” he said, calling for coexistence, compassion and cooperation over conflict.