Brics summit slams Pak terror groups
xiamen — In a significant diplomatic win for India, Brics countries on Monday named for the first time Pakistan-based terror groups like the LeT and the JeM for causing violence in the region and said those supporting terror acts must be held accountable.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was joined by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brazilian President Michael Temer and South African President Jacob Zuma in strongly denouncing terror activities of such groups, as they expressed determination to collectively fight the scourge.
The 43-page ‘Xiamen Declaration’, adopted at the end of the fivenation Brics plenary, stressed on the need for immediate cessation of violence in Afghanistan.
It expressed “concern” over the security situation in the region and the violence caused by the Taleban, Daesh, Al Qaeda and its affiliates.
At the ninth Summit of the grouping, the Brics leaders also condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations wherever committed and by whomsoever. They stressed that there can be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism.
“We reaffirm that those responsible for committing, organising, or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable,” the statement said. According to officials, Modi raised the issue of terrorism strongly at the Brics Summit and was joined by other leaders, who expressed willingness to fight this menace. “For the first time specific listing of terror organisations has been made (in the Brics declaration),” Secretary (East) in the external affairs ministry Preeti Saran said.
The inclusion of Pakistan-based terror groups in the declaration is also significant as it indicated a slight shift in the Chinese view towards terror groups operating out of Pakistan.
Ahead of the Brics Summit, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson had said, “We noticed that India, when it comes to Pakistan’s counter-terrorism, has some concerns. I don’t think this is an appropriate topic to be discussed at the Brics Summit.”
During the last Brics Summit in Goa, China did not allow the inclusion of Pakistan-based terror groups in the declaration despite the fact that the Summit was taking place within weeks of the Uri terror strike carried out by a Pakistanbased militant group.
However, now it is to be seen that after being part of such a strongly-worded declaration on terrorism and indicting Pakistanbased terror group JeM, how China will act towards the designation of Jaish’s chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN.
After the declaration was issued, the Chinese foreign ministry on Monday parried questions on any change in its stand of blocking Azhar’s banning by the UN.
Currently, China has put a hold on the proposal to ban Azhar moved by the US and some other countries at the UN’s Sanction’s Committee.
The declaration referred to terrorism at least 17 times, apart from mentioning other forms of extremism and radicalisation. During the Brics Summit here, India also of- fered to host a conference on countering radicalisation.
Talking about India’s position on terrorism, Saran said, “Terrorism is a scourge that has to be addressed collectively by the entire international community. And, I think, increasingly there is a realisation that you cannot have double standards in tackling this scourge.”
“You cannot have good and bad terrorists. It is a collective action,” she said.
Saran said that prime minister Modi also raised the issue of speeding up the long-pending UN Security Council reforms during the Summit. The Brics countries also called upon all nations to adopt a comprehensive approach in combating terrorism.
They said that the approach should include “countering radicalisation, recruitment, movement of terrorists including Foreign Terrorist Fighters, blocking sources of financing terrorism including, for instance, through organised crime by means of money-laundering, supply of weapons, drug trafficking and other criminal activities, dismantling terrorist bases, and countering misuse of the Internet including social media by terrorist entities through misuse of the latest Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).”
The Brics leaders conveyed their commitment to prevent and counter the growing spread of terrorist narratives, and to tackle all sources, techniques and channels of terrorist financing. — PTI