India’s request to respond after Khawaja Asif rejected at SCO meeting

BEIJING:  During the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting, a request by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to speak after Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif was denied by the Chinese chair.

In his address, Khawaja Asif presented evidence of Indian interference in Pakistan before member states, highlighting incidents such as the Jaffer Express attack and the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav.

Following Khawaja Asif’s speech, the Indian Defence Minister sought permission from the Chinese host to respond, but his request was turned down, maintaining the forum’s procedural order.

Khawaja Asif has said that Kashmir and Balochistan were mentioned in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization declaration, other countries also supported Pakistan’s position.

The Defence Minister stated that the conference communiqué is issued jointly, and if any member is absent or disagrees, it is not released. He added that nine member countries of the organization had agreed on the joint communiqué, but India refused to sign it.

Earlier, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh expressed strong displeasure over the omission of the Pahalgam incident from the joint communiqué of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ Conference held in Beijing.

According to Indian media, the minister was visibly upset upon reviewing the final declaration and reportedly refused to sign the document due to the absence of any mention of the incident.

The SCO meeting brought together defence chiefs from member states, but the disagreement highlighted growing diplomatic sensitivities within the forum.