SCO Summit: PM Modi takes dig at Pakistan on terrorism, Sharif hits back over Indus waters treaty

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Sep 2, 2026: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday delivered a strong message on terrorism at the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, saying no country can treat terrorism as a strategic asset. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was among the leaders attending the summit.

Modi said terrorism continued to pose a serious challenge to humanity and called for a coordinated global response against terrorist financing, recruitment, radicalisation and safe havens.

“We must speak with one voice and make it clear that there can be no place for double standards on this serious issue,” Modi said, stressing that countries supporting or sheltering terrorists must understand that terrorism can never be a strategic asset.

Sharif, meanwhile, took an apparent swipe at India over the Indus Waters Treaty, which New Delhi put in abeyance following the April 22, 2025, terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.

Without directly naming India or the treaty, Sharif said water should not be used for political purposes or as a tool of pressure. He called for the full implementation of international agreements “in letter and spirit.”

Sharif also said Afghan territory must not be allowed to be used by terrorists against Pakistan, reflecting Islamabad’s long-standing concerns over alleged cross-border militancy.

India Rejects Arbitration Ruling on Indus Waters Treaty

The exchange came a day after a Court of Arbitration constituted under the World Bank framework ruled that the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan remained in force.

India rejected the ruling, maintaining that the arbitration body was illegally constituted and that its proceedings had no validity.

SCO Criticises Strikes on Iran, Opposes Unilateral Sanctions

India and Pakistan, along with Russia, China and other SCO members, also joined a broader expression of concern over military strikes on Iran by Israel and the United States.

The Bishkek Declaration expressed “deep concern” over developments involving Iran and condemned attacks on its territory as violations of international law and the UN Charter.

The SCO members also opposed “unilateral coercive measures,” stating that such measures violated international law and could adversely affect global food, energy and humanitarian security.

India Maintains Stand on China’s BRI

India, however, did not endorse the section of the Bishkek Declaration supporting China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), unlike several other SCO members.

Addressing the summit, Modi said India supported connectivity initiatives that facilitated trade and opened new avenues for development, but stressed that such projects must respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.

His remarks came against the backdrop of India’s opposition to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship BRI project that passes through Pakistan-occupied areas of Jammu and Kashmir claimed by India.

Modi also called for improved connectivity through roads, railways and air corridors, along with simpler customs procedures, greater use of digital documentation and more efficient logistics networks.