Jaishankar calls for global mechanism to check terror
NEWDELHI: States that have turned the production of terrorists into a primary export have attempted to paint themselves as victims of terror, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Friday, calling for creation of global mechanisms to shut down the structures supporting the menace.
In a clear reference to Pakistan, he said international pressure 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.
A Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) by Pakistan last week mentioned names of 80 terrorists including Dawood Ibrahim, Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar. The order was aimed at escaping blacklisting of Pakistan by antiterror watchdog, Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
In his remarks at the 19th Darbari Seth memorial lecture organised by The Energy Research Institute (TERI), Jaishankar touched upon a plethora of issues including India’s global outlook, essence of self-reliance and multilateralism.
“Livelihood and innovation should not be sacrificed at the altar of political fashion and commercial convenience. Believe me, our country has enough cards to play if we have the confidence to play them,” he said, talking about economic issues and highlighting the government’s focus on making India self-reliant.
Talking about challenge of terrorism, the external affairs minister said it is a cancer that potentially affects everyone, just as pandemics potentially impact upon all humanity. “And yet, in both cases, globalised focused responses to either challenge have tended to emerge only when there has been sufficient disruption created by a ‘spectacular’ event,” he said.
The external affairs minister mentioned the ‘9/11’ terror attacks as well as the ‘26/11’ Mumbai strike and said a range of mechanisms like the FATF have been put in place but rued that the world still “lacks a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, with the membership of the UN still wrestling with certain foundational principles.” “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 as victims of terror,” he said.
At the same time, Jaishankar said sustained pressure through international mechanisms to prevent the movement of funds for terror groups and their front agencies can work, which he said was seen last week.
The external affairs minister said the struggle against terror and those who aid and abet it is a work in progress.
“It remains for the international system to create necessary mechanisms to shut down structures that support and enable terrorism, whether in South Asia or across the globe,” he said.
The external affairs minister said the true challenges are more phenomena like terrorism, pandemics and climate change and these are issues which will really test the seriousness of multilateralism.
“Unfortunately, there are some who persuade themselves that they can draw the benefits while leaving the risks, threats, and challenges for others to deal with,” he said, without naming any country.