Call out doublespeak of sanctuary-providers, says Jaishankar at UNSC

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 19

India called on the world community never to compromise with the evil of terrorism with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar telling the UNSC on Thursday that there should be no lack of courage in calling out the “doublespeak” of those providing sanctuaries to terrorists.

The events unfolding in Afghanistan enhance concerns about regional and international security and the heightened activity of Haqqani network “justifies this anxiety”, said Jaishankar.

The Haqqani group had links to al-Qaida and had run terrorist training camps, including for Kashmir groups, but is now well represented in the higher Taliban command and its fighters’ control most of the security in Kabul.

“Whether it’s in Afghanistan or against India, groups like LeT, JeM continue to operate with impunity and encouragement,” Jaishankar said while speaking on a discussion on international terrorism at the UNSC which he also presided over.

Maintaining that the menace of terrorism “cannot be and should not be” associated with any religion, nationality or ethnicity, he said it was vital that the international community must condemn all the manifestations of terrorism.

“There cannot be any justification for a terrorism act,” he said while decrying attempts to take “selective, tactical or complacent view of problems”.

Jaishankar also reiterated his eight cardinal principles to eliminate terrorism which include not glorifying terrorism, not placing blocks on listing of terrorists at UN, enlist and delist terrorists from the UN list objectively, not on political or religious grounds and provide greater funding to the UN office on Counter-Terrorism.

While all speakers from UNSC members focused on ISIL and al-Qaida, academic Davood Moradian, who escaped from Kabul 48 hours earlier, sought UN Peacekeeping Forces in Kabul as a “humanitarian tragedy” could be taking shape.