New York (SunstarTV Bureau): India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has unveiled an eight-point plan against the global scourge; by calling out Pakistan for its support for terrorism and China for providing terrorists cover against sanctions.
On Tuesday at a Security Council ministerial meeting, Tunisia’s Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi, issued a consensus statement affirming the obligation of all nations “to prevent and suppress the financing of terrorism” and the need to strengthen international action against terrorism.
The meeting was convened by Tunisia, which holds the Council’s rotating presidency this month, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the landmark anti-terrorism resolution adopted following the 9/11 attacks on the US.
The international community must collectively expose and hold accountable those countries that are “clearly guilty of aiding and supporting terrorism, and willfully provide financial assistance and safe havens” for terrorists, he said speaking through a video link.
Jaishankar did not name Pakistan or China, but he made the references to the countries contextually clear.
“We, in India, have seen the crime syndicate responsible for the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts not just given state protection but enjoying 5-star hospitality,” he said in one such reference that pointed to Pakistan hosting Dawood Ibrahim, the crime boss behind the attack that killed 257 people.
In his eight-point plan, he starts off with a call for an unconditional commitment by all countries to combat terrorism.
Jaishankar suggested that the UN increase cooperation with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which should continue to identify and fix weaknesses in anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing mechanisms, he said.
He said that the UN and countries should act against “exclusivist thinking that divides the world and harms our social fabric” that fuel communal hatred and lead to radicalization.
“The Council should be on guard against new terminologies and misleading priorities that can dilute our focus,” he said.
Earlier, the under-secretary-general of the Counter-Terrorism Office, Vladimir Voronkov, warned: “Terrorists are adapting quickly, keen to exploit cyberspace and new technologies, linkages with organised crime, as well as regulatory, human and technical gaps in national capacities.”
He said that terrorist groups were exploiting the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to greater polarisation and amplification of hate speech, while development has suffered.
(Sources: ANI)
