New Delhi: In an obvious reference to Pakistan and China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said certain countries support terrorism as part of their foreign policy while some others support it indirectly by blocking action against terrorists.
“Certain countries support terrorism as part of their foreign policy. They offer political, ideological and financial support to them” the Prime Minister said while addressing an international ministerial conference – ‘No Money for Terror’ – on counter-terrorism financing in New Delhi.
Organisations and individuals who attempt to create “sympathy for terrorists” should be isolated, PM Modi said.
“There must be a cost imposed upon countries that support terrorism, and also on organisations and individuals which try to create sympathy for terrorists. They must also be isolated. There can be no ifs and buts entertained in such matters. The world needs to unite against all kinds of overt and covert backing of terror,” PM Modi said.
“Further, sometimes, there are indirect arguments made in support of terrorism to block actions against terrorists,” he said.
China has on several occasions foiled international efforts to take action against terrorists, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed.
The union government has maintained that funding needs to be choked in order to stop terror-related activities. The Prime Minister also underlined the need to strike at the “root of terror financing”.
“It is well known that terrorist organisations get money through several sources. One source is state support,” the PM said.
“New kinds of technology are being used for terror financing and recruitment. There is a need for a uniformed understanding of new finance technologies. At times, even activities like money laundering and financial crimes have been known to help terror funding. In such a complex environment, the UNSC and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) are helping the war against terrorism,” he added.
He said that all terrorist attacks deserve equal outrage and action.
“There should be no need for anyone to remind the world of the dangers of terrorism. However, there are still certain mistaken notions about terrorism in some circles. We consider that even a single attack is one too many. Even a single life lost is one too many. So, we will not rest till terrorism is uprooted.” he said.
He said it is “also important to jointly address the problems of extremism and radicalisation”, which has often been blamed for the Kashmir issue.
“Our country faced horrors of terror long before the world took serious note of it. Over the decades, terrorism in different forms tried to hurt India, but we’ve fought bravely,” the Prime Minister said. (NDTV)