India seeks strong action on nations backing terror, says Rajnath Singh
New Delhi: In a scathing attack on Pakistan but without naming it, home minister Rajnath Singh demanded strong action against nations that support terrorists and terrorist organisations while addressing the Saarc home/interior ministers’ conference in Islamabad on Thursday.
Mr Singh said: “The strongest possible steps need to be taken not only against terrorists and terrorist organisations but also those individuals, institutions, organisations or nations that support them. Only this will ensure the forces engaged in promoting the heinous crime of terrorism against humanity are effectively countered.” He hinted at the possible extradition of Dawood Ibrahim and action against Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed.
Do not glorify terrorism: Rajnath Singh
The home minister stressed on the need for an effective mechanism among member states to put in place effective measures so that those carrying out terrorist acts do not escape punishment and are extradited or prosecuted.
In an obvious reference to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif describing Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, who was killed in an encounter by security forces in J&K as a “martyr”, the home minister, in a terse signal, said in no circumstances should terrorists be eulogised as martyrs.
Continuing his attack on Pakistan and calling for “zero tolerance” against terror, Mr Singh said any attempt to distinguish between “good” and “bad” terrorists was misleading. The Indian media, which had come from New Delhi to report on the conference, was not allowed to enter the venue, which led to an argument between senior Indian and Pakistani officials.
The government, meanwhile, downplayed reports that the home minister’s speech had been “blacked out” by the Pakistani media, saying it was standard Saarc practice that only the host country’s opening statement was made in public and open to the media, while the remaining proceedings were in camera, to allow for a full and frank discussion of all issues. An interior ministry official in Islamabad clarified there was no blackout of Mr Singh’s speech as none of the speeches of visiting ministers was shown.
