Bangladesh, Nov. 18 -- Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has delivered one of his strongest messages yet on global counterterrorism efforts, urging the international community to abandon what he called the “whitewashing” of terrorism and adopt a firm, universal stance against extremist violence. Speaking at the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Moscow on November 18, the Indian foreign minister framed terrorism as a defining challenge of the 21st century-one that demands clarity, consistency, and collective resolve.

Jaishankar emphasized that the SCO, since its inception, was created to counter the “three evils” of terrorism, separatism, and extremism. Acc...