Cost must be imposed on nations which aid terrorism under foreign policy: Modi

In an apparent dig at neighbours China and Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (November 18) said cost must be imposed on countries that support terrorism under the garb of foreign policy and others who aid terrorists by not taking action against them.

Modi said some countries aid terrorism as part of their foreign policy by providing political, ideological and financial support. Organisations and individuals that try to create sympathy for terrorists must also be isolated, he said addressing the third ‘No Money for Terror’ Ministerial Conference on Counter-Terrorism Financing hosted by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

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“There can be no ifs and buts interfering in such matters. The world needs to be united against all kinds of overt and covert backing of terrorism,” Modi said.

He said tactical gains against terrorists will soon be lost without a larger strategy aimed at hurting terror finances. “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,” Modi said.

He said sovereign nations have a right to their own systems but “we must not allow extremist elements to misuse differences between systems”. “Anyone who supports radicalisation should have no support in any country.”

Modi said one of the sources of terror funding is organised crime which must not be seen in isolation. “The gangs have deep links with terrorists. The money made in gun running, drugs and smuggling is being pumped into terrorism… Action against organised crimes is extremely important in the fight against terrorism.”

He also called to give equal attention to all kinds of terrorist attacks.

“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.

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Citing the example of Kashmir to assert the connect between extremism and radicalisation, Modi said India
“faced the horrors of terror long before the world took serious note of it.”

Asserting the country will not rest till terrorism is uprooted, Modi said the long-term impact of terrorism is particularly hard on the poor and local economy. He said all terrorist attacks deserve equal outrage and action. Only a uniform, unified, zero-tolerance approach can defeat terrorism, Modi stressed.

The two-day conference will build on two previous conferences held in Paris in April 2018 and Melbourne in November 2019, and work towards enhancing global cooperation to deny finances to terrorists and access to permissive jurisdictions to operate.

During the conference, 77 countries besides host India and 16 multi-lateral agencies like Interpol and Europol will deliberate on key issues related to restricting the flow of illicit money for funding terrorism, Director General of NIA Dinkar Gupta said.

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 will take place during the conference.

The sessions will be chaired by senior ministers, including Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

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Pakistan and Afghanistan are not participating in the conference, officials said. “The two-day conference on November 18 and 19 will offer a unique platform for participating nations and organisations to deliberate on the effectiveness of the current international regime on counter-terrorism financing as well as steps required to address emerging challenges,” an official statement said. The event will be attended by about 450 delegates from across the world, including ministers, heads of multilateral organisations and Financial Action Task Force (FATF) heads of delegations.