Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of terrorism at the SCO summit in Kyrgyzstan on Friday, saying nations which provided encouragement, support and financial help to the menace needed to be called out. While he didn't name Pakistan, there were few doubts as to what Modi was referring to as he reiterated his call for a global conference to deal with the challenges posed by terrorism.

"I was recently in Sri Lanka... There I was again reminded of the ugly face of terrorism which surfaces anytime and anywhere to claim innocent lives. It is now time for all humanitarian forces to rise above their narrow confines and come together to deal with this danger," said Modi, adding that countries which supported terrorism needed to be held responsible.

Significantly for India, the Bishkek Declaration said terrorism and spread of terrorist ideology were among the issues which required special attention because they were "cross-border in nature".

It also condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, stressing that acts of terrorism and extremism cannot be justified.

Modi also called on the SCO member-states to cooperate under the SCO regional anti-terrorist structure to end terrorism. The Bishkek Declaration also said the member-states believed it was important to take comprehensive measures to intensify efforts against terrorism and its ideology, as well as to determine and eliminate the factors and conditions that promote terrorism and extremism. "They (member-states) note that interfering in other countries' domestic affairs under the pretext of fighting terrorism and extremism as well as using terrorist, extremist and radical groups to achieve one's own mercenary ends is unacceptable," it said.

"The member-states condemn the propaganda of the ideology of terrorism, extremism and religious intolerance, as well as manifestations of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or convictions in any form," the declaration said.

"It is a priority to step up the international community's joint efforts to counter the attempts to involve young people in the activities of terrorist, separatist and extremist groups and will continue to focus on preventing the spread of religious intolerance, xenophobia and racial discrimination, it added.

The PM said in his address that a peaceful, united, safe and prosperous Afghanistan was vital for the stability and security in the SCO.

"Our goal is to support the people and the government of Afghanistan for an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled comprehensive peace process. We are happy that a further roadmap has been prepared at the SCO Afghanistan contact group," he said.

Modi came up with a new template he described as "HEALTH" for cooperation among SCO members. H, he said, stood for healthcare cooperation, E for economic cooperation, A for alternative energy, L for literature, T for terrorism-free society and the last H for humanitarian cooperation.

"Our shared area is in great need of better connectivity in the modern era," he said.

Initiatives like the International North-South Transport Corridor, Chabahar Port and Ashgabat Agreement clarify the focus of India on connectivity, Modi said.

"Respect for sovereignty, regional integrity, good governance, transparency, practicality and reliability should be the basis of connectivity initiatives. The importance of people-to-people contact with physical connectivity is not less," he said in an apparent reference to China's massive infrastructure development under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which traverses through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

"Economic cooperation is the basis of our people's future. Unilateralism and protectionism has not benefited anyone. We need an open and all-inclusive trade policy at the WTO so that the interests of all countries, specially the developing ones, can be taken care of," Modi said.

