India, Afghanistan read Pak the riot act over terrorism
UNITED Modi attacks terror sanctuaries, Afgan prez says stop harbouring Taliban
AMRITSAR: Indian roundly cornered its rival neighbour on Sunday as an international conference on Afghanistan named Pakistan-based militant groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-eMohammad, among others, as threats to regional peace.
The resolution, called Amritsar Declaration, adopted at the sixth Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process initiativesaid“Lashkar-e-Taiba,Jaishe-Mohammad ... and other foreign terrorist fighters” were propagating “high level of violence”.
The declaration was announced after Afghanistan and India jointly delivered a stinging attack on Pakistan and indicated Islamabad was doing little to rein in militancy in the region.
Speaking at the opening session in this Punjab city close to the Pakistan border, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a strong collective to defeat terrorist networks that cause “bloodshed and fear” and reaffirmed India’s commitment to peace and stability in Afghanistan.
“Silence and inaction against terrorism in Afghanistan and our region will only embolden terrorists and their masters,” Modi said.
He talked about “externally induced instability” in Afghanistan, a reference to Pakistan that is accused of fomenting unrest in border regions.
Minutes before Modi spoke, Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani attacked Islamabad by name, saying Taliban wouldn’t last even a month if they didn’t have sanctuary in Pakistan.
“We thank Pakistan for their pledges of $500 million assistance for reconstruction of Afghanistan. I hope that you use it to fight terrorists and extremists in Pakistan.”
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 Pak’s Aziz says singling out one nation for terror is ‘simplistic’
Indian PM Modi, Afghan President Ghani hold bilateral talks; focus on trade, security
>>P4