AGENCY
BAUNALIM: India’s attempts to isolate Pakistan on terror appeared to have gained traction when the five-nation grouping BRICS on Sunday condemned the recent attacks in Uri and Pathankot and made it clear that there can be no political or religious justification to it as Prime Minister dubbed the neighbour as “mother ship” of global terror.
After diplomats worked long hours, the Summit of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa came out with a Goa Declaration which also backed India’s demand by calling upon all nations to work together to expedite the adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the UN without any further delay.
Leaders of the five nations including Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was a responsibility of all states to prevent terrorist actions from their territories, a concern India continuously voices over the Pakistan’s support to cross-border terrorist activities by outfits operating from its soil.
“We strongly condemn the recent several attacks, against some BRICS countries, including that in India. We strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stressed that there can be no justification whatsoever for any acts of terrorism, whether based upon ideological, religious, political, racial, ethnic or any other reasons.
“We agreed to strengthen cooperation in combating international terrorism both at the bilateral level and at international fora,” said the 102-para declaration.
The declaration also touched several other areas including global cooperation in combating the menace of terrorist financing, corruption, stashing of black money and the need for steps to achieve repatriation of ill-gotten stashed abroad.
The five-nation grouping also decided to work closely with G-20 members to strengthen macro economic cooperation and promote sustainable trade and development to propel global growth.
Modi set the tone for the strong declaration on terrorism with his veiled but obvious attack on Pakistan from whose soil terrorists targeted the army base in Uri, air force base in Pathankot and civilian targets in Gurdaspur, resulting in a good number of casualties.
“In our own region, terrorism poses a grave threat to peace, security and development. Tragically its mother ship is a country in India’s neighbourhood. Terror modules around the world are linked to this mother ship. This country shelters not just terrorists. It nurtures a mindset. A mindset that loudly proclaims that terrorism is justified for political gains.
“It is a mindset that we strongly condemn. And, against which we as BRICS need to stand and act together. BRICS must speak in one voice against this threat,” he said without taking the name of Pakistan.
Modi’s call for BRICS to stand and act together against terrorism came against the backdrop of China remaining non-committal on backing India on mobilising world opinion against terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
The declaration called upon all nations to adopt a comprehensive approach in combating terrorism, which should include countering violent extremism, radicalisation, recruitment, movement of terrorists including foreign terrorist fighters and blocking sources of financing terrorism and dismantling terrorist bases.
Underlining that “Criminality should be the only basis for punitive action against the individuals and organizations responsible for carrying out terrorist acts”, the Prime Minister said “Terrorist funding, their weapons supply, training and political support must be systematically cut off.”
He also called for early adoption of the draft Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), saying doing so will be an expression of “our resolve” to fight the menace.
Asserting that selective approaches to terrorist individuals and organizations will not only be futile but also “counter-productive”, Modi said there must be no distinction based on “artificial and self-serving grounds”.
Making a press statement in the presence of all the BRICS leaders at the conclusion of the Summit, Modi said it was “agreed that those who nurture, shelter, support and sponsor such forces of violence and terror are as much a threat to us as the terrorists themselves.”
He said terrorist funding, their weapons supply, training and political support must be systematically cut off. “In this respect, we need to deepen the security cooperation between our National Security Advisors,” the Prime Minister said.
Modi said the BRICS leaders were unanimous in recognizing the threat that terrorism, extremism and radicalization presents, not just to the regional and global peace, stability and economic prosperity but, also to our society, our way of life and humanity as a whole.
In its declaration, the BRICS also pitched for a stronger global commitment for combating corruption and repatriation of black-money in overseas jurisdictions, saying these along with aggressive tax practices hurt equitable development and economic growth. “We will strive to coordinate our approach… and encourage a stronger global commitment to prevent and combat corruption on the basis of the United Nations Convention against Corruption and other relevant international legal instruments,” it said.
The BRICS said it supports the strengthening of international cooperation against corruption, including through the BRICS Anti-Corruption Working Group, as well as on matters related to asset recovery and persons sought for corruption.
The grouping also reaffirmed its commitment towards a globally fair and modern tax system and welcome the progress made on effective and widespread implementation of the internationally agreed standards.
In the declaration, the bloc also sought a strong, quota-based and adequately resourced IMF to bridge the financing gap in infrastructure development to push economic growth in developing nations.
“We reaffirm our commitment to a strong, quota-based and adequately resourced International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Borrowed resources by the IMF should be on a temporary basis,” stated Goa Declaration on 8th BRICS Summit concluded here.
Highlighting the importance of public and private investments in infrastructure, including connectivity, to ensure sustained long-term growth, the leaders of the five nation grouping called for approaches to bridge the financing gap in infrastructure including through enhanced involvement of Multilateral Development Banks.
