Jaishankar criticises nations that use terror as a ‘tool of statecraft’
NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Saturday took a swipe at Pakistan and China over their position in combating terrorism and outlined practical steps to be taken by countries, including sharing of real-time information, to counter terrorists.
Addressing a session on promoting international cooperation against terror financing at the “No Money For Terror” ministerial conference hosted by India, Jaishankar – without naming Pakistan or China – criticised countries that use terror as a “tool of statecraft” or fail to “rise above political divides” to address the threat posed by terrorism.
India has for long accused Pakistan’s establishment of backing and sheltering terrorist groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) that have carried out cross-border attacks. China’s blocking of joint India-US efforts to sanction Pakistanbased terrorists at the UN Security Council has emerged as a fresh irritant in the already troubled relations between New Delhi and Beijing.
Jaishankar emphasised that perpetrators, facilitators and financiers of terror attacks “continue to walk free, enjoy state support and hospitality”, and the “most egregious example we all know pertains to the 2008 Mumbai terror attack”.
He said: “In India’s context, terrorist groups from across the border such as LeT, JeM or Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and their proxies thrive on assured financial support to commit barbaric acts of terror on Indian soil.”
The world community must collectively call out the few states that “still aid, support and even justify terrorism and wilfully provide financial assistance and safe havens” to terrorists. “Concerted action against terrorists and their sponsors, including dismantlement of terrorist safe havens, sanctuaries, training grounds, and financial and ideological as well as political support structures are critical imperatives to defeat terrorism,” he said.
Jaishankar listed five reasons for the growing scope, scale and intensity of the terrorist threat in recent years, including the “continued tendency of some to use terrorism as a tool of statecraft and willingness of others to justify and obfuscate that”.
“Important that all states collectively follow an undifferentiated and undiluted approach to terrorism. Terror is terror and no political spin can ever justify it,” he tweeted. “World needs to rise above political divides to address this peril. The battle against terrorism must be fought resolutely on all fronts, in all situations and at all places.”
He added: “When it comes to terrorism, we will never look away, we will never compromise and we will never give up on our quest to ensure justice.”
Jaishankar said it was ironic that while terror attacks often involve cross-border support and elements, such as recruitment of fighters, procurement of weapons, and transfer of funds, the response by authorities stops at the geographic borders where their jurisdiction ends.