SCO leaders condemn Jaffar Express and Pahalgam attacks, vow joint fight on terror

• SCO vows tougher joint action against terrorism, extremism.
• Presidents Xi, Putin take turns to swipe at the West.
• China's Xi unveils Global Governance Initiative.

TIANJIN: The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) leaders on Monday strongly condemned recent terrorist attacks in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir's (IIOJK) Pahalgam area, on the Jaffar Express, and in Khuzdar, pledging deeper multilateral cooperation and concrete measures to combat terrorism.

In a joint statement issued after the Council of Heads of State meeting in Tianjin, the leaders stressed that perpetrators, organisers and sponsors of such attacks must be held accountable, reaffirming their strong commitment to combating terrorism, separatism and extremism.

The SCO members underlined the unacceptability of using terrorist and extremist groups for political or selfish purposes, while recognising the primary role of sovereign states in countering these threats.

Pakistan and India recently engaged in a four-day armed conflict following the April 22 Pahalgam attack. New Delhi, without offering any evidence, claimed that Islamabad was behind the attack — allegations that Pakistan has denied.

In response to India's cross-border strikes, Pakistan had launched Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos after downing six Indian Air Force jets, including three Rafales.

After the brief war, India in June refused to sign a joint document during a high-level SCO Defence Ministers' meeting in China due to its mentioning terrorist activities in Pakistan's Balochistan and lack of reference to the Pahalgam incident. The huddle decided not to issue a joint statement over a lack of consensus on the terrorism issue.

However, Pakistan secured a major win after the United States formally designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its militant faction, the Majeed Brigade, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO). Majeed Brigade was also listed as an alias to BLA’s previous listing as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group.

The India-backed BLA, first designated as an SDGT in 2019, claimed responsibility for the March hijacking of the Jaffar Express train travelling from Quetta to Peshawar, which left 31 civilians and security personnel martyred and saw more than 300 passengers taken hostage.

Today's declaration — signed by all SCO members — also highlighted the importance of multilateral cooperation in addressing terrorism and its financing, noting the outcome of the International High-Level Conference on Border Security under the Dushanbe Process. The next round of the conference will be held in New York in 2026, the statement added.

The leaders appreciated the role of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in facilitating joint counterterrorism exercises, information-sharing, and monitoring efforts. They noted the results of the joint anti-terrorism drills “Interaction - Anti-Terror - 2024” held in China’s Xinjiang region last July, and affirmed readiness to expand such initiatives.

To counter extremist ideology, the SCO members adopted a new 2026–2030 Program of Cooperation, aimed at implementing the Convention on Countering Extremism signed in Astana in 2017. The program focuses on preventing the spread of radical ideologies, religious intolerance, xenophobia, aggressive nationalism, and racial discrimination within the SCO region.

Middle East crisis

Meanwhile, the SCO member states also noted that the only possible way to ensure peace and stability in the Middle East is through a comprehensive and just settlement of the Palestinian question.

They strongly condemned the military strikes by Israel and the United States against Iran in June 2025.

"Such aggressive actions against civilian targets, including nuclear energy infrastructure, which resulted in the death of civilians, constitute a gross violation of the principles and norms of international law and the UN Charter, and an infringement on the sovereignty of Iran," the declaration added.

The SCO members undermined regional and international security, and have serious implications for global peace and stability.

"They noted that physical nuclear safety and security of nuclear facilities must be ensured on a permanent basis, including during periods of armed conflict, in order to protect the population and the environment from harm," it added.

Xi and Putin round on West

During the summit aimed at putting Beijing front and centre of regional relations, Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin took turns to swipe at the West.

Xi told the SCO leaders that the global international situation was becoming more "chaotic and intertwined". The Chinese leader also slammed "bullying behaviour" from certain countries — a veiled reference to the United States.

"The security and development tasks facing member states have become even more challenging," he added in his address in the northern port city of Tianjin.

"With the world undergoing turbulence and transformation, we must continue to follow the Shanghai spirit ... and better perform the functions of the organisation," Xi said.

Putin used his speech to defend Russia's Ukraine offensive, blaming the West for triggering the three-and-a-half-year conflict that has killed tens of thousands and devastated much of eastern Ukraine.

"This crisis wasn't triggered by Russia's attack on Ukraine, but was a result of a coup in Ukraine, which was supported and provoked by the West," Putin said. "The second reason for the crisis is the West's constant attempts to drag Ukraine into NATO."

New global order

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi pressed his vision for a new global security and economic order — Global Governance Initiative (GGI) — that prioritises the "Global South", in a direct challenge to the United States.

"We must continue to take a clear stand against hegemonism and power politics, and practise true multilateralism," Xi said, in a thinly veiled swipe at the United States and President Donald Trump's tariff policies.

"Global governance has reached a new crossroads," he added.

Outlining the framework, the Chinese president said the initiative rests on five principles: adhering to sovereign equality, abiding by international rule of law, practising multilateralism, adopting a people-centered approach, and focusing on real actions.

Putin, whose country has forged even closer economic and security ties with China amid the fallout from the Ukraine war, said the SCO had revived "genuine multilateralism", with national currencies increasingly used in mutual settlements.

"This, in turn, lays the political and socio-economic groundwork for the formation of a new system of stability and security in Eurasia," Putin said.

"This security system, unlike Euro-centric and Euro-Atlantic models, would genuinely consider the interests of a broad range of countries, be truly balanced, and would not allow one country to ensure its own security at the expense of others."

Xi called for the creation of a new SCO development bank, in what would be a major step towards the bloc's long-held aspiration of developing an alternative payment system that circumvents the U.S. dollar and the power of US sanctions.

Beijing will provide 2 billion yuan ($280 million) of free aid to member states this year and a further 10 billion yuan of loans to an SCO banking consortium.

China will also build an artificial intelligence cooperation centre for SCO nations, which are also invited to participate in China's lunar research station, Xi added.

— With additional input from Reuters and AFP.