Defence Minister Rajnath Singh refused to sign a joint statement at the SCO meeting in China on Thursday and stressed India's anti-terror stance after calling out cross-border terrorism in a veiled dig at Pakistan and appealing to the participating nations to bring perpetrators of such acts to justice.

Signing the joint statement at the SCO meeting would have diluted India's stance against terrorism, as it did not even mention the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead on April 22. The SCO meeting then decided to drop the declaration altogether.

During the meeting, the defence minister indirectly criticised Pakistan while talking about the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, condemning the use of cross-border terrorism by certain countries that, he said, continue to harbour and support terrorists.

Taking aim without naming Pakistan directly, Singh stated, "Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of policy and provide shelter to terrorists. There should be no place for such double standards. The SCO should not hesitate to criticise such nations."