World should put pressure on countries sheltering terrorists: Narendra Modi in Berlin

Berlin: Asking the international community to treat terrorism as "sensitively" as nuclear proliferation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the world should collectively put pressure on countries, which provide shelter to terrorists, in an apparent reference to Pakistan.

The Prime Minister also made a strong pitch for the conclusion of the long-pending Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the UN this year, which marks the 70th anniversary of the global body. The objective of the CCIT is to strengthen cooperation to combat international terrorism.

Addressing a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel here after their talks during which they discussed the menace of terrorism, Modi described it as the "biggest threat to humanity" and said all those believing in humanity should speak in one voice and intensify collective efforts to tackle it.

"Terrorism is a challenge to the whole world...This issue should be dealt with as sensitively as nuclear proliferation," the Prime Minister said.

He further added that "We need to work on how we can stop sources from where the weapons are supplied. How we can put pressure on the countries where governments provide shelter to terrorists...We need to isolate such countries and governments," he said.

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Modi's remarks came four days after a Pakistan court released LeT operations commander and the 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, which evoked a sharp reaction and concern from several countries including the US, France and Israel.

Strongly protesting Lakhvi's release, India said it "eroded" the value of Pakistan's commitment to tackle terror.

In his initial remarks at the press interaction, Modi said, "The spread of terrorism is growing and its character is changing. The threat is coming close to us across every region of the world. We need a comprehensive global strategy to deal with this global challenge, in which India and Germany can work together."

German Chancellor Merkel also said the two countries have agreed to fight against terrorism collectively, describing it as a global challenge.

Equally, in the coming days, maritime cyber and space security would be a matter of concern to everyone and the two countries should increase the cooperation in this area as well, Modi said.

He also talked about instability and violence in West Asia, saying it "affects the security of our citizens at home".

Modi also stressed the importance of peaceful and democratic development of Afghanistan.