India, Nov. 18 -- India has the right to defend its people against terrorism and it will exercise it, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday at the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Moscow, adding that New Delhi had demonstrated its resolve to fight terror -- a likely reference to Operation Sindoor launched against Pakistan in May after the Pahalgam terror strike.

The threat of terrorism, he said, had become more serious over the years, calling for zero tolerance against the scourge.

"We must never forget that the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) was founded to combat the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism. These threats have become even more serious in the years that have passed. It is...