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At the SCO Summit, India Sends a Clear Message: No Double Standards on Terrorism. By Farooq Ganderbali
The message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit was clear and uncompromising: terrorism cannot be justified, selectively condemned, or used as an instrument of state policy. The international community must move beyond statements of condemnation and dismantle the complete ecosystem that sustains terrorism—terror financing, recruitment, radicalisation, propaganda and safe havens.
Speaking in the presence of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PM Modi rightly stressed that the fight against terrorism cannot be reduced to an “action-reaction” approach. Terrorism is not merely a security challenge for one country; it is a threat to humanity, economic development, tourism, social harmony and regional peace.
For India, this is not an abstract debate. Jammu & Kashmir has endured decades of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, with innocent civilians, security personnel, tourists and young people paying the highest price. The 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack, which targeted tourists, was not only an attack on innocent lives—it was an assault on Kashmir’s tourism economy, communal harmony and the region’s hard-won peace.
The consequences of terrorism have gone far beyond loss of life. Kashmir’s economy, social unity and traditional culture have all suffered from decades of violence and radicalisation. Businesses were destroyed, tourism was repeatedly disrupted, young lives were lost or derailed, and communities were divided by fear and extremist propaganda.
The international community must also remember the uncomfortable reality of terrorist safe havens. Osama bin Laden was found in Abbottabad, Pakistan, demonstrating why the question of terrorist infrastructure and safe havens cannot be ignored. The world has repeatedly witnessed how extremist organisations exploit territory, networks, financing and propaganda to spread violence across borders.
The suffering of Kashmiri Pandits is another tragic consequence that cannot be forgotten. Terrorist violence and threats forced thousands of Kashmiri Pandit families to leave their ancestral homes. They lost homes, livelihoods, neighbourhoods and a profound connection with their homeland. Any genuine and lasting peace in Kashmir must recognise their suffering and their right to live with dignity, security and justice.
Pakistan must understand that supporting terrorism cannot bring Kashmir closer to Pakistan; it only creates suffering for the people of Kashmir and damages Pakistan’s own future. Guns, radicalisation and terror proxies cannot win the hearts of the Kashmiri people. Only peace, development, democracy, education and genuine people-to-people cooperation can create lasting stability.
A Clear Call to Pakistan
The need of the hour is for Pakistan to make a fundamental choice: stop supporting, financing, facilitating and providing safe space to terrorism directed against Jammu & Kashmir.
Pakistan must dismantle terrorist infrastructure, prevent recruitment and radicalisation, stop the use of extremist propaganda, and ensure that its territory is not used to launch violence against India or any other country.
There is still an opportunity to change course. Pakistan can choose schools instead of terror camps, jobs instead of radicalisation, healthcare instead of violence, and regional cooperation instead of proxy warfare.
There is another important dimension that deserves global attention: the contrast between the resources spent on confrontation and the needs of ordinary people. Across Pakistan, including Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK), people have raised concerns over electricity, food, healthcare, education, employment and basic public services. Their grievances deserve to be heard peacefully and addressed through democratic means.
India’s Jammu & Kashmir is moving in a different direction. Peace, tourism, infrastructure, education, healthcare, sports and youth opportunities are increasingly becoming central to the region’s development story. The growing participation of young people in sports, education and entrepreneurship demonstrates what becomes possible when violence gives way to opportunity.
Kashmir does not need another generation lost to terrorism. It needs a generation empowered by education, technology, sports, entrepreneurship and employment.
The people of Jammu & Kashmir deserve peace, prosperity and dignity—not terrorism, radicalisation or propaganda. Kashmir should be a bridge of peace, tourism and cooperation, not a battlefield created by cross-border terrorism.
The SCO and the wider international community must therefore adopt one principle without ambiguity:
There can be no good terrorism and bad terrorism. There can be no double standards. Those who finance, facilitate, recruit, radicalise or shelter terrorists must be held accountable.
Pakistan’s future—and the future of the entire region—will not be secured through terrorism or propaganda. It will be secured through education, economic development, democratic institutions, regional cooperation and peace.
The time has come for Pakistan to stop using terrorism as a policy instrument and choose the path of peace. The time has come for the world to speak with one voice: dismantle the terror ecosystem, reject state-sponsored terrorism, protect innocent lives, and give the people of South Asia the peace they deserve.
Kashmir has suffered enough. Let Kashmir heal, prosper and become a symbol of peace—not a victim of terrorism.
Speaking in the presence of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PM Modi rightly stressed that the fight against terrorism cannot be reduced to an “action-reaction” approach. Terrorism is not merely a security challenge for one country; it is a threat to humanity, economic development, tourism, social harmony and regional peace.
For India, this is not an abstract debate. Jammu & Kashmir has endured decades of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, with innocent civilians, security personnel, tourists and young people paying the highest price. The 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack, which targeted tourists, was not only an attack on innocent lives—it was an assault on Kashmir’s tourism economy, communal harmony and the region’s hard-won peace.
The consequences of terrorism have gone far beyond loss of life. Kashmir’s economy, social unity and traditional culture have all suffered from decades of violence and radicalisation. Businesses were destroyed, tourism was repeatedly disrupted, young lives were lost or derailed, and communities were divided by fear and extremist propaganda.
The international community must also remember the uncomfortable reality of terrorist safe havens. Osama bin Laden was found in Abbottabad, Pakistan, demonstrating why the question of terrorist infrastructure and safe havens cannot be ignored. The world has repeatedly witnessed how extremist organisations exploit territory, networks, financing and propaganda to spread violence across borders.
The suffering of Kashmiri Pandits is another tragic consequence that cannot be forgotten. Terrorist violence and threats forced thousands of Kashmiri Pandit families to leave their ancestral homes. They lost homes, livelihoods, neighbourhoods and a profound connection with their homeland. Any genuine and lasting peace in Kashmir must recognise their suffering and their right to live with dignity, security and justice.
Pakistan must understand that supporting terrorism cannot bring Kashmir closer to Pakistan; it only creates suffering for the people of Kashmir and damages Pakistan’s own future. Guns, radicalisation and terror proxies cannot win the hearts of the Kashmiri people. Only peace, development, democracy, education and genuine people-to-people cooperation can create lasting stability.
A Clear Call to Pakistan
The need of the hour is for Pakistan to make a fundamental choice: stop supporting, financing, facilitating and providing safe space to terrorism directed against Jammu & Kashmir.
Pakistan must dismantle terrorist infrastructure, prevent recruitment and radicalisation, stop the use of extremist propaganda, and ensure that its territory is not used to launch violence against India or any other country.
There is still an opportunity to change course. Pakistan can choose schools instead of terror camps, jobs instead of radicalisation, healthcare instead of violence, and regional cooperation instead of proxy warfare.
There is another important dimension that deserves global attention: the contrast between the resources spent on confrontation and the needs of ordinary people. Across Pakistan, including Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK), people have raised concerns over electricity, food, healthcare, education, employment and basic public services. Their grievances deserve to be heard peacefully and addressed through democratic means.
India’s Jammu & Kashmir is moving in a different direction. Peace, tourism, infrastructure, education, healthcare, sports and youth opportunities are increasingly becoming central to the region’s development story. The growing participation of young people in sports, education and entrepreneurship demonstrates what becomes possible when violence gives way to opportunity.
Kashmir does not need another generation lost to terrorism. It needs a generation empowered by education, technology, sports, entrepreneurship and employment.
The people of Jammu & Kashmir deserve peace, prosperity and dignity—not terrorism, radicalisation or propaganda. Kashmir should be a bridge of peace, tourism and cooperation, not a battlefield created by cross-border terrorism.
The SCO and the wider international community must therefore adopt one principle without ambiguity:
There can be no good terrorism and bad terrorism. There can be no double standards. Those who finance, facilitate, recruit, radicalise or shelter terrorists must be held accountable.
Pakistan’s future—and the future of the entire region—will not be secured through terrorism or propaganda. It will be secured through education, economic development, democratic institutions, regional cooperation and peace.
The time has come for Pakistan to stop using terrorism as a policy instrument and choose the path of peace. The time has come for the world to speak with one voice: dismantle the terror ecosystem, reject state-sponsored terrorism, protect innocent lives, and give the people of South Asia the peace they deserve.
Kashmir has suffered enough. Let Kashmir heal, prosper and become a symbol of peace—not a victim of terrorism.
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"Trial of Pakistani Christian Nation" By Nazir S Bhatti
On demand of our readers, I have decided to release E-Book version of "Trial of Pakistani Christian Nation" on website of PCP which can also be viewed on website of Pakistan Christian Congress www.pakistanchristiancongress.org . You can read chapter wise by clicking tab on left handside of PDF format of E-Book.