Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
Shah calls for global action in the fight against terrorism Jaishankar criticises nations that use terror as a ‘tool of statecraft’
NEW DELHI: India has proposed to set up a “permanent secretariat” for the “No Money For Terror (NMFT)” initiative to ensure continuous global focus on countering terror financing and chalking out a practical and workable road map to fight terrorism, Union home minister Amit Shah said on Saturday, as he urged all countries to share intelligence in a transparent manner.
Shah also asked jurisdictions who support terrorists or those who harbour them – in what was seen as an indirect reference to Pakistan and China – to “think beyond politics” and cooperate with each other.
Speaking at the concluding session of the third ministerial NMFT conference, Shah said: “India has sensed the need for permanency of this unique initiative of NMFT in order to sustain the continued global focus on countering the financing of terrorism. Time is ripe for a permanent secretariat to be established.”
He added that the chair statement issued after the twoday conference “offers to establish a permanent secretariat in India”.
“Shortly, India will circulate a discussion paper to all participating jurisdictions for their valuable comments (in this regard),” he said.
Government officials who were part of the conference said a decision to establish the permanent secretariat in New Delhi is “more or less” finalised as most countries have agreed to it.
The NMFT secretariat will be a multilateral platform to discuss issues related to terror financing and new technologies and mechanisms used by terrorists to raise funds, an official said on condition of anonymity.
“Like the global watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) deals with anti-money laundering measures related to terror financing, the NMFT secretariat will be the base for discussing a future road map and common strategies for countering the financing,” the official said.
At least 450 delegates from 77 countries, other than India, and 16 multilateral agencies such as Interpol, FATF and Europol attended the two-day conference.
On the need for cooperation over transparency, Shah said: “Our first commitment should be cooperation with transparency. All countries, all organisations, must pledge complete transparency in sharing intelligence in a better and more effective manner. We have to fight this war against terrorism and terrorist groups, in every geographical space, in every virtual space.” “No country or organisation can successfully combat terrorism alone. The international community must continue to fight shoulder-toshoulder against this increasingly complex and borderless threat,” he added.
Shah also indirectly targeted Pakistan, saying that “some countries and their agencies (referring to the ISI) have made terrorism their state policy”.
Without naming China, which has repeatedly blocked India’s attempts to sanction Pakistan-based terrorists at the UN Security Council, Shah said: “We observe that some countries repeatedly support terrorists and harbour terrorism. I believe that terrorism has no international boundaries, so all countries should think beyond politics and cooperate with each other.”
The Chair Statement, issued after the conference, said the international meet “underscored the importance of whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, whereby cooperation in countering terrorism and its financing between relevant stakeholders, including the executive, the legislature, the judiciary, civil society and private sector, is secured”.
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-eTaiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) that have carried out cross-border attacks. China’s blocking of joint India-US efforts to sanction Pakistan-based 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.