‘Some nations support terror, others block action against them’
Calls for uniform, unified, zero tolerance approach
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Nov 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called for pursuing terrorists, breaking their support networks and hitting at their finances even as, without naming Pakistan, he charged certain countries of supporting terrorism as part of their foreign policy.
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He also charged some other nations of supporting terrorism by indirectly blocking action against terrorists, an apparent reference towards China.
Addressing delegates from over 70 countries and international organisations at the third ‘No Money for Terror Ministerial Conference on Counter-Terrorism Financing’ hosted by the Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi this morning, Modi said if we want our citizens to be safe, then we can’t wait until terror comes to our homes.
“We must pursue terrorists, break their support networks and hit their finances,” he added.
He declared: “We will not rest till terrorism is uprooted. We consider that even a single attack is one too many. Even a single life lost is one too many. Our country faced the horrors of terrorism long before the world took serious note of it. We lost thousands of precious lives but we have fought terrorism bravely. We have been firm in tackling terror”.
Asserting that fighting a terrorist and fighting terrorism are two different things, the Prime Minister said a terrorist may be neutralized with weapons and immediate tactical responses to terrorists may be an operational matter, but tactical gains will soon be lost without a large strategy aimed at hurting their finances.
“A terrorist is an individual but terrorism is about a network of individuals and organizations,” he added.
Maintaining that in today’s world, ideally there should be no need for anyone to remind the world of dangers of terrorism though there are still certain mistaken notions about terror in some circles, Modi said intensify of reaction to different attacks can’t vary based on where it happens.
“All terror attacks deserve equal outrage and action. Further, sometimes, there are indirect arguments made in support of terror to block action against terrorists. There is no place for an ambiguous approach while dealing with a global threat,” he said, adding the terrorism is an attack on humanity, freedom and civilisation.
The terror known no boundaries. Only a uniform, unified and zero-tolerance approach can defeat terrorism, he declared.
Targeting Pakistan, albeit without naming the country, the Prime Minister said: “It is well known that terror organizations get money through several sources and one such source is state support. Certain countries support terrorism as part of their foreign policy by offering political, ideological and financial support to them”.
He said the international organizations must not think that the absence of war means peace as proxy wars are also dangerous and violent. There must be a cost imposed upon countries that support terrorism, Organizations and individuals that try to create sympathy for terrorists must also be isolated. There can be no ifs and buts entertained in such matters, he added.
Modi said the world needs to unite against all kinds of overt and covert backing terror.
“Further, sometimes, there are indirect arguments made in support of terrorism to block actions against terrorists,” the Prime Minister said.
China has on several occasions foiled international efforts to take action by the United Nations against terrorists, mostly against those who were responsible for terror attacks in India.
It is significant that this conference is happening in India as the country faced the horrors of terror long before the world took serious note of it, Modi said.
“Over the decades, terrorism in different names and forms tried to hurt India. We lost thousands of precious lives, but we have fought terrorism bravely,” he added.
The Prime Minister said organised crime should not be seen in isolation as it is one of the sources of terror funding. These gangs often have deep links with terrorist outfits and the money made in gun-running, drugs and smuggling is pumped into terrorism, he said.
“These groups help with logistics and communication too. Action against organised crime is extremely important in the fight against terror. At times, even activities like money laundering and financial crimes have been known to help terror funding. Fighting it needs global collaboration,” Modi said.
In such a complex environment, the United Nations Security Council, Financial Action Task Force, Financial Intelligence Units, and the Egmont Group, are boosting cooperation in the prevention, detection and prosecution of illegal fund flows, he said.
“This is helping the war against terror in many ways over the past two decades. This also helps in understanding terror funding risks,” Modi said.
At the conference, the Prime Minister also talked about terrorists using technology, the challenges of the dark net and private currencies.
“There is a need for a uniform understanding of new finance technologies. It is also important to involve the private sector in these efforts… But we must be careful about one thing. The answer is not to demonise technology. Instead, it is to use technology to track, trace and tackle terrorism,” he said.
Modi said many different nations have their own legal principles, procedures and processes but everyone must also be careful not to allow extremists to misuse differences between systems. “This can be prevented through deeper coordination and understanding between Governments. Joint operations, intelligence coordination and extradition help the fight against terror.”
The two-day conference is being attended by about 450 delegates from across the world, including Ministers, and heads of multilateral organisations. Officials said Pakistan and Afghanistan are not participating in the conference while China was invited but did not come.
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