Must take terrorism as seriously as matters like climate change and pandemic: India to world

"Cross-border terrorism is not statecraft; it is simply another form of terrorism," said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, taking a veiled dig at Pakistan. He was addressing the sixth meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Conference of Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA)

Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan): The world needs to take the issue of terrorism as seriously as it takes climate change and pandemics, India told the international community on Tuesday (October 12). India also said that cross-border terrorism is not statecraft but simply another form of the menace, making a veiled dig on Pakistan.

Addressing the sixth meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Conference of Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also asserted that connectivity must respect the most basic principle of international relations - respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, an apparent reference to India's objection to China's ambitious infrastructure development plans in Pakistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

"If peace and development is our common goal, the biggest enemy we must overcome is terrorism. In this day and age, we cannot countenance its use by one state against another. Cross-border terrorism is not statecraft; it is simply another form of terrorism," he told the gathering without naming any country. He said the international community "must unite against this menace, as seriously as it does on issues like climate change and pandemics." "Any calculation that extremism, radicalisation, violence and bigotry can be used to advance interests is a very short-sighted one. Such forces will come back to haunt those who nurture them. Lack of stability will also undermine our collective efforts to get COVID under control. The situation in Afghanistan is, therefore, of grave concern," he said.