NEW DELHI: Asserting that certain countries “support terrorism as part of their foreign policies” by providing political, ideological and financial support, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday suggested that a cost must be imposed on the nations that support terrorism.
“It is well known that terrorist organisations get money through several sources. One source is state support. Organisations and individuals that try to create sympathy for terrorists must also be isolated,” the PM said after inaugurating the third ‘No Money for Terror Ministerial Conference on Counter-Terrorism Financing’ in New Delhi.
Without naming any of India’s neighbours, he said proxy war is also dangerous and that the world needs to unite against all sorts of terrorism. “International organisations must not think that absence of war means peace. Proxy wars are also dangerous and violent. There must be a cost imposed on countries that support terrorism,” the prime minister said.
“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 added.
He said all terrorist attacks deserve equal outrage and action. “We must pursue terrorists, break their support networks and hit their finances. The long-term impact of terrorism is particularly hard on the poor and on the local economy as nobody likes an area that is constantly under threat. Due to this, livelihood of people is lost,” he said, suggesting a way out. “Uniform, unified and zero-tolerance approach can defeat terrorism.”
“Uprooting terrorism needs a larger, proactive, systemic response. If we want our citizens to be safe, we cannot wait until terror comes to our homes. The intensity of the reaction to different attacks cannot vary based on where it happens. Further, sometimes, there are indirect arguments made in support of terrorism to block action against terrorists. There is no place for an ambiguous approach while dealing with a global threat. It is an attack on humanity, freedom and civilization,” the PM added.
The prime minister warned tactical gains against terrorists will soon be lost without a larger strategy aimed at hurting terror finances.
Apart from terrorism, he went on to say that it is “also important to jointly address the problems of extremism and radicalisation”, which has often been blamed for the Kashmir issue. “Sovereign nations have a right to their own systems but we must not allow extremist elements to misuse differences between the systems. Those supporting radicalisation shouldn’t have place in any nation,” he said.
He added that it is significant that this conference is happening in India. “Our country faced horrors of terror long before world took serious note of it. Over the decades terrorism in different forms tried to hurt India but we’ve fought terrorism bravely.”
He said a terrorist is an individual but terrorism is a larger network of organisations. “The world needs to unite against all kinds of covert, overt backing of terrorism,” said PM Modi.
The Prime Minister’s office (PMO) said in a statement that the two-day conference, hosted by the ministry of home affairs, will offer a unique platform for participating nations and organisations to deliberate on the effectiveness of the current international regime on countering terrorism financing as well as steps required to address emerging challenges.
The previous two conferences were held in Paris in April 2018 and in Melbourne in November 2019.
As per the statement, it is being attended by about 450 delegates from 78 countries and multilateral organisations, including ministers from 20 nations and Financial Action Task Force (FATF) heads of delegations.
During the conference, deliberations will be held in four sessions: ‘Global Trends in Terrorism and Terrorist Financing’, ‘Use of Formal and Informal Channels of Funds for Terrorism’, ‘Emerging Technologies and Terrorist Financing’ and ‘International Co-operation to Address Challenges in Combating Terrorist Financing’.
Union home minister Amit Shah will attend the concluding event, conveying India’s determination in its fight against terrorism and its support systems for achieving success against it.
On Thursday, India said that confirmation from China was still awaited while Pakistan and Afghanistan were not participating in the international event.
(With inputs from agencies)
“It is well known that terrorist organisations get money through several sources. One source is state support. Organisations and individuals that try to create sympathy for terrorists must also be isolated,” the PM said after inaugurating the third ‘No Money for Terror Ministerial Conference on Counter-Terrorism Financing’ in New Delhi.
Without naming any of India’s neighbours, he said proxy war is also dangerous and that the world needs to unite against all sorts of terrorism. “International organisations must not think that absence of war means peace. Proxy wars are also dangerous and violent. There must be a cost imposed on countries that support terrorism,” the prime minister said.
“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 added.
He said all terrorist attacks deserve equal outrage and action. “We must pursue terrorists, break their support networks and hit their finances. The long-term impact of terrorism is particularly hard on the poor and on the local economy as nobody likes an area that is constantly under threat. Due to this, livelihood of people is lost,” he said, suggesting a way out. “Uniform, unified and zero-tolerance approach can defeat terrorism.”
“Uprooting terrorism needs a larger, proactive, systemic response. If we want our citizens to be safe, we cannot wait until terror comes to our homes. The intensity of the reaction to different attacks cannot vary based on where it happens. Further, sometimes, there are indirect arguments made in support of terrorism to block action against terrorists. There is no place for an ambiguous approach while dealing with a global threat. It is an attack on humanity, freedom and civilization,” the PM added.
The prime minister warned tactical gains against terrorists will soon be lost without a larger strategy aimed at hurting terror finances.
Apart from terrorism, he went on to say that it is “also important to jointly address the problems of extremism and radicalisation”, which has often been blamed for the Kashmir issue. “Sovereign nations have a right to their own systems but we must not allow extremist elements to misuse differences between the systems. Those supporting radicalisation shouldn’t have place in any nation,” he said.
He added that it is significant that this conference is happening in India. “Our country faced horrors of terror long before world took serious note of it. Over the decades terrorism in different forms tried to hurt India but we’ve fought terrorism bravely.”
He said a terrorist is an individual but terrorism is a larger network of organisations. “The world needs to unite against all kinds of covert, overt backing of terrorism,” said PM Modi.
The Prime Minister’s office (PMO) said in a statement that the two-day conference, hosted by the ministry of home affairs, will offer a unique platform for participating nations and organisations to deliberate on the effectiveness of the current international regime on countering terrorism financing as well as steps required to address emerging challenges.
The previous two conferences were held in Paris in April 2018 and in Melbourne in November 2019.
As per the statement, it is being attended by about 450 delegates from 78 countries and multilateral organisations, including ministers from 20 nations and Financial Action Task Force (FATF) heads of delegations.
During the conference, deliberations will be held in four sessions: ‘Global Trends in Terrorism and Terrorist Financing’, ‘Use of Formal and Informal Channels of Funds for Terrorism’, ‘Emerging Technologies and Terrorist Financing’ and ‘International Co-operation to Address Challenges in Combating Terrorist Financing’.
Union home minister Amit Shah will attend the concluding event, conveying India’s determination in its fight against terrorism and its support systems for achieving success against it.
On Thursday, India said that confirmation from China was still awaited while Pakistan and Afghanistan were not participating in the international event.
(With inputs from agencies)