#SCOMeet : External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Raises Menace Of Cross-Border Terrorism ; Greets Bilawal Bhutto Zardari With Namaste, No Handshake

Picture : Twitter/ ANI

The channel of finances for terrorist activities must be blocked without any distinction and terrorism in all its forms, including cross-border terrorism, must be stopped, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday at a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in presence of his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

In a report by PTI , In his address at the SCO Council of foreign Ministers’ meeting, Jaishankar said taking the eyes off terrorism would be detrimental to the security interests of the grouping and that when the world was engaged in facing COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, the menace of terrorism continued unabated, in an apparent reference to Pakistan.

The external affairs minister, chairing the conclave, said India firmly believes that there can be no justification for terrorism and noted that combating the menace is one of the original mandates of the SCO.

Earlier , External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar greeted his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, China’s Qin Gang and other foreign ministers with a namaste on their arrival at the venue of the India-hosted conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

Though the two-day SCO Council of Foreign Ministers’ meeting began at the Taj Exotica Resort here on Thursday evening with a reception hosted by Jaishankar, the main deliberations took place on Friday.

The external affairs minister greeted each visiting foreign minister with a namaste and there was no handshake.