Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called upon the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit to fight terrorism and not hesitate in condemning countries that support such acts.

“Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of their policies and give shelter to terrorists,” Modi said. “SCO [Shanghai Cooperation Organisation] countries should not have any hesitation in criticising them. There should be no double standards on such serious matters.”

Modi made the remarks while virtually addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit hosted by India. The virtual meeting was attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi amongst others.

During Tuesday’s address, Modi said that Afghanistan’s territory should not be allowed to be used to destabilise its neighbourhood and promote extremist ideologies.

He also urged the member states to work for the welfare of Afghanistan and provide humanitarian aid to the nation.

“Humanitarian assistance to Afghan citizens, forming an elected and inclusive government, fighting against drug trafficking and terrorism, and ensuring the rights of women, children and minorities- these all are our shared priorities,” the prime minister remarked.

In August 2021, the insurgent group Taliban had taken over the regime in Afghanistan after the United States-led forces withdrew from the country after 20 years of war.