Jaishankar attacks Pak for sheltering terrorists
NEWDELHI: EXTERNAL affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday criticised Pakistan for portraying itself as a victim of terror while grudgingly acknowledging the presence of wanted terrorists and crime leaders on its territory due to international pressure.
Jaishankar did not name Pakistan in his remarks while presiding over the Darbari Seth memorial lecture, but there was no doubt as to which country he was referring to. He described the 9/11 terror attacks in the US and the Covid-19 pandemic as “standout moments that disrupted the trajectory of human society”.
Nineteen years after the 9/11 attacks and 12 years since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the world has a range of mechanisms to counter terrorism, including the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), several UN sanctions committees and the Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate, he said. However, it lacks a comprehensive convention on international terrorism as members of the UN are still “wrestling with certain foundational principles”, he added.
“All the while states that have turned the production of terrorists into a primary export have attempted, by dint of bland denials, to paint themselves also as victims of terror,” Jaishankar said, a clear reference to Pakistan
“But as we have seen last week, sustained pressure through international mechanisms to prevent the movement of funds for terror groups and their front agencies can work. It has eventually compelled a state complicit in aiding, abetting, training and directing terror groups and associated criminal syndicates to grudgingly acknowledge the presence of wanted terrorists and organised crime leaders on its territory,” he said.
Jaishankar acknowledged the “struggle against terror and those who aid and abet it is a work in progress”. He said, “It remains for the international system to create the necessary mechanisms to shut down the structures that support and enable terrorism, whether in South Asia or across the globe.”
The memorial lecture was delivered by UN Secretary-general Antonio Gutteres, who said India has all the ingredients for exerting leadership at home and abroad. He added the drivers are poverty alleviation and universal energy access – two of India’s top priorities.
“Scaling up clean energy, particularly solar, is the recipe for solving both. Investments in renewable energy, clean transport and energy efficiency during the recovery from the pandemic could extend electricity access to 270 million people worldwide – fully a third of people that currently lack it,” he said. “These same investments could help create nine million jobs annually over the next three years.”