PRESS TRUST OF INDIA | Beijing, Dec 15| 13: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s meeting on Tuesday saw two would-be members, India and Pakistan, taking strident stance on terrorism. India’s representative V K Singh, minister of state for external affairs, made oblique criticism of the role of Pakistan in the battle against terrorism. “Political convenience can no longer provide an alibi for backing terrorist groups ideologically, financially or through material support. Today the world has realized that there are no good terrorists,” Singh said in his speech at the SCO. India and Pakistan are due to be admitted formally as full members of SCO after being observers for several years. He said it was important that Afghanistan is free of external interference. “This is absolutely essential to advance peace, stability and prosperity in the region,” Singh said. Kabul recently complained that there was a Pakistani hand in the recent attack in Afghanistan. In a significant move, Singh proposed that India could play an important role in augmenting energy industry in the region. “India’s energy requirements can be met by new and more ambitious energy projects within the SCO bringing on board the interests of energy exporting, transit and importing nations. On its part, India can bring to the region its strengths in financial management, especially micro-finance, pharmaceuticals, services such as IT and healthcare, as well as capacity building,” Singh said. The statement is important because China is playing an important role in Pakistan’s energy development while India’s efforts to get a piece of the action has not worked out due to political differences. China is also expanding its energy industry’s footprint into Nepal. Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif talked about the problem of terrorism in the region saying that “the security situation around us remains precarious”. He admitted that Pakistan is “seeing challenges to state sovereignty, territorial integrity”. “Armed conflicts continue to rage in several parts of the world, unleashing forces beyond the control of anyone. Militant ideologies need to be countered,” he said.
