Stepping up his diplomatic offensive against Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted that country over the terror issue at the Brics summit in Goa on Sunday, telling other Brics leaders that Pakistan was the “mother-ship of terrorism”, while sending out a strong but veiled message to China by cautioning against “selective approaches to terrorist individuals and organisations”. In his remarks later in the evening at the Outreach Summit of Brics with regional grouping Bimstec, Mr Modi again attacked Pakistan, saying that a country in India’s neighbourhood “embraces and radiates the darkness of terrorism” and that “terrorism has become its favourite child”, and added: “And, the child (terrorism) in turn has come to define the fundamental character and nature of its parent (Pakistan)”. He said that in South Asia, “all nation states, barring one, are motivated to pursue a path of peace, development and economic prosperity for its people”.
Mr Modi further sent a strong message to Pakistan on the issue of its increasing diplomatic isolation that “to those who nurture the philosophy of terror, and seek to de-humanise mankind, we must send a clear message to mend their ways or be isolated in the civilised world”.
In the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Brics summit earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi sent a veiled but firm message to China in the wake of Beijing opposing a proposed UN ban on Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist Masood Azhar, saying: “Selective approaches to terrorist individuals and organisations will not only be futile but also counter-productive. There must be no distinction based on artificial and self-serving grounds.”
The Goa Declaration adopted after the Brics summit strongly condemned the recent terror attacks including in India (in Uri and Pathankot), asked all countries to prevent “terrorist actions” from their soil and called for expeditious adoption of an India-backed global convention by the UN to fight the menace effectively. In what is being seen as a successful global diplomatic campaign by India, Mr Modi, in his press statement after the Brics summit, said: “We (Brics) also agreed that those who nurture, shelter, support and sponsor such forces of violence and terror are as much a threat to us as the terrorists themselves. India is happy to note the unity of thought and purpose on this serious global challenge.”
“The growing arc of terrorism today threatens the Middle East, West Asia, Europe and South Asia. Its violent footprints put at risk the secu- rity of our citizens... Tragically, the mother-ship of terrorism is a country in India’s neighbourhood. Terror modules around the world are linked to this mother-ship. This country shelters not just terrorists. It nurtures a mindset. A mindset that loudly proclaims that terrorism is justified for political gains. It is a mindset that we strongly condemn. And, against which we as Brics need to stand and act together. Brics must speak in one voice against this threat,” Mr Modi, without directly naming Pakistan at the multilateral forum, told Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Michel Temer and South African President Jacob Zuma at the Brics summit’s “restricted” segment.
Addressing the Outreach Summit of Brics with regional grouping Bimstec that comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand, apart from India which is a member of both groups, Mr Modi said: “In South Asia and Bimstec, all nation states, barring one, are motivated to pursue a path of peace, development and economic prosperity for its people. Unfortunately, this country is in India’s neighbourhood which embraces and radiates the darkness of terrorism. Terrorism has become its favourite child. And the child in turn has come to define the fundamental character and nature of its parent. The time for condemning state-sponsored terrorism is long gone. It is time to stand up and act, and act decisively... To those who nurture the philosophy of terror, and seek to de-humanise mankind, we must send a clear message to mend their ways or be isolated in the civilised world.”
At the Brics plenary session, Mr Modi, in a veiled reference to China, said: “Terrorism casts a long shadow on our development and economic prosperity. Its reach is now global. It has grown more lethal and adept at the use of technology. Our response to terrorism must, therefore, be nothing less than comprehensive. And, we need to act both individually and collectively. Selective approaches to terrorist individuals and organisations will not only be futile but also counter-productive. There must be no distinction based on artificial and self-serving grounds. Criminality should be the only basis for punitive action against the individuals and organisations responsible for carrying out terrorist acts. Terrorist funding, their weapons supply, training and political support must be systematically cut off. In this respect, we need to deepen the security cooperation between our national security advisers. Early adoption of the draft Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism will be an expression of our rsolve to fight this menace.”
In his press statement issued after the Brics summit, Mr Modi said: “We (Brics nations) were also one in agreeing that Brics need to work together and act decisively to combat this threat. We underscored the need for close coordination on tracking sources of terrorist financing; and targeting the hardware of terrorism, including weapons supplies, ammunition, equipment and training. We also agreed that those who nurture, shelter, support and sponsor such forces of violence and terror are as much a threat to us as the terrorists themselves. India is happy to note the unity of thought and purpose on this serious global challenge.”
The Goa Declaration adopted at the end of the Brics summit stated: “We strongly condemn the recent several attacks, against some Brics countries, including in India. We strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stressed that there can be no justification whatsoever for any acts of terrorism, whether based upon ideological, religious, political, racial, ethnic or any other reasons.... We call upon all nations to adopt a comprehensive approach in combating terrorism, which should include countering violent extremism as and when conducive to terrorism, radicalisation, recruitment, movement of terrorists including foreign terrorist fighters, blocking sources of financing terrorism, including through organised crime by means of money-laundering, drug trafficking, criminal activities, dismantling terrorist bases, and countering misuse of the Internet, including social media, by terror entities through misuse of the latest information and communications technologies (ICTs). ... We call upon all nations to work together to expedite the adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) in the UN General Assembly without any further delay.”
