BRICS slams Pahalgam attack, but doesn’t call out Pakistan

The BRICS Summit in Brazil on Sunday condemned the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 civilians dead, but didn’t mention Pakistan, a neighbour India has for long been blaming for exporting terrorists into its territory.

This is exactly what happened at the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting on July 2 — that it condemned the Pahalgam massacre but did not name Pakistan.

At the June 26 meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), an organisation that is led by China, there was neither any mention of Pahalgam nor of Pakistan. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had refused to sign the SCO draft statement after the document omitted Pahalgam attack reference.

Clearly, BRICS also avoided mentioning Pakistan’s name because Pakistan’s ally and mentor China is a key member of the organisation.

A joint declaration by the BRICS member nations called for ensuring zero tolerance towards terrorism and rejected “double-standards” in countering extremism.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir. We reaffirm our commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, financing and safe havens,” the declaration stated. It also called for concerted actions against all UN-designated terrorists and terror entities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday morning to attend the two-day BRICS Summit. Lauding Brazilian President Lula for hosting the event, the PM said, “BRICS remains a powerful force for economic cooperation and global good.”

The issues discussed at the event included Israel’s attack on Iran, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and trade tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. The bloc raised “serious concerns” about the rise of “unilateral tariff” and “non-tariff” measures, which “distorted trade and were inconsistent with WTO rules”.

The summit adopted the strongest-ever language on the need for UNSC reforms. “We reiterate our support for comprehensive reforms of the UNSC to make it more democratic, representative, effective and efficient, and to increase the representation of developing countries from Africa, Asia and Latin America,” it said.

The declaration also stressed that the UNSC reforms would lead to the amplified voice of the global south. “We reiterate support to the aspirations of Brazil and India to play a greater role in the United Nations, including its security council,” the declaration stated.

The BRICS grouping held its first summit in 2009 and initially comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The bloc later added Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The member nations represent almost half of the world’s population, 36 per cent of global land area and a quarter of the global economic output. The grouping sees itself as a forum for cooperation between countries of the global south and a counterweight to the Group of Seven (G7), comprising leading Western economic powers.