Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Hardening its stand on the spread of Covid-19 pandemic and terrorism, India took a rare swipe at China on Thursday at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), saying nations should not place “blocks and holds” without any reason on requests to designate terrorists, warning that any double standards and distinctions between terrorists would be made only at “our own peril”.
“Let us always remember that what is true of Covid is even more true of terrorism: None of us are safe until all of us are safe,” said India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar.
“The international community holds a collective view that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations must be condemned. There cannot be any exception or justification for any act of terrorism, regardless of motivations behind such acts,” he told the Council.
Dr. Jaishankar, current President of the UNSC, chaired the “UNSC Briefing on Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorist Acts.”
As India’s EAM, Dr. Jaishankar alluded to his remarks to the UNSC made in January this year when he had proposed an eight-point action plan aimed at collectively eliminating the scourge of terrorism.
“Summon the political will: don’t justify terrorism, don’t glorify terrorists; No double standards. Terrorists are terrorists; distinctions are made only at our own peril; Don’t place blocks and holds on listing requests without any reason,” he said.
According to media reports, this was in reference to China, a Permanent Member of the UNSC, repeatedly placing technical holds on bids by India and other nations to designate Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar.
“In our own immediate neighborhood, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan (ISIL-K) has become more energetic and is constantly seeking to expand its footprint. Events unfolding in Afghanistan have naturally enhanced global concerns about their implications for both regional and international security,” he said.
“Whether it is in Afghanistan or against India, groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) continue to operate with both impunity and encouragement,” Dr. Jaishankar said.
“We, in India, have of course had more than our fair share of challenges and casualties. The 2008 Mumbai terror attack is imprinted in our memories. The 2016 Pathankot airbase attack and the 2019 suicide bombing of our policemen at Pulwama are even more recent,” he added.