BRICS spells out concern over Pak terrorist groups
LeT, Jaish named along with IS ahead of Modi, Xi bilateral today
The BRICS grouping on Monday bracketed Pakistanbased Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad with global terror groups Islamic State and al-Qaeda, marking a significant diplomatic win in India’s efforts to counter cross-border terror.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brazilian President Michael Temer and South African President Jacob Zuma condemned terror attacks worldwide and said those “committing, organising or supporting” such acts must be held accountable.
This is the first time groups such as LeT and JeM have been named in a BRICS declaration though the five-country grouping has denounced terror in the past. In the run-up to the summit in Xiamen, China’s foreign ministry had even suggested the counterterror efforts of its “iron brother” ally Pakistan would not be an appropriate topic for discussion.
The 43-page Xiamen declaration, with 17 references to terrorism, made it clear that India had been able to convince others in the grouping about the threat posed by Pakistan-based organi- sations as the document also contained references to groups such as the Haqqani Network, Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement and Pakistani Taliban that have targeted Afghanistan and China.
“We deplore all terrorist attacks worldwide, including attacks in BRICS countries, and condemn terrorism in all its forms...” said the declaration released after the plenary session of the 9th BRICS summit.
“We... express concern on the security situation in the region and violence caused by the Taliban, ISIL/DAISH, Al-Qaida and its affiliates including Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Haqqani Network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-eMohammad, TTP and Hizb-utTahrir,” it said.