Foreign Minister S Jaishankar indirectly targeting Pakistan on Thursday told the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that the “contemporary center of terrorism” is still very active.
Indirectly putting China in the dock, he also expressed regret that evidence-based proposals for blacklisting terrorists are stopped without giving sufficient reasons.
Chairing the ‘UNSC Briefing: Global Counter Terrorism Approach: Challenge and Way Forward’, Jaishankar described terrorism as a potential threat to international peace and security and said that it (terrorism) knows no border, nationality or race.
In his address to the 15-member council, he said, “The threat of terrorism has indeed become more serious. We have seen the expansion of al-Qaeda, Daesh, Boko Haram and al-Shabaab and their affiliates.”
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S Jaishankar said that “at the other end of the spectrum are ‘lone wolf’ attacks motivated by online bigotry and prejudice. But somewhere in all this we cannot forget that old habits and established networks are still alive, especially in South Asia. No matter how much talk is done to gloss over the unpleasant realities, the contemporary center of terrorism remains very active.
He was apparently referring to Pakistan, which its neighbors have accused of harboring terrorists and providing safe havens to several terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Taliban.
“The same standards do not apply for banning and prosecuting terrorists. Sometimes it seems that the ownership of terrorism is more important than the actual crime or its consequences.
He added, “The functioning of the relevant mechanisms is also a matter of legitimate concern and debate. At one level, we have seen protections that come close to reasonableness. Then, there are certain occasions where there are evidence-backed proposals but they are put on hold without giving sufficient reasons. On the contrary, anonymity has also been resorted to to avoid taking ownership of unconfirmed cases.”
His remarks made a strong reference to China, a veto-power permanent member of the UN Security Council’s Sanctions Committee, repeatedly obstructing and stalling India’s proposals to blacklist terrorists based on Pakistan’s soil. S Jaishankar said, “We cannot let ‘9/11 of New York’ or ’26/11 of Mumbai’ repeat again.”
