Union external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday said the key conspirators and planners of the 26/11 attacks continue to remain protected and unpunished at the two-day anti-terrorism meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) which is being held in Mumbai and Delhi.
“The key conspirators and planners of the 26/11 attacks continue to remain protected and unpunished. When it comes to proscribing some of these terrorists the UN Security Council has regrettably been unable to act in some of these cases due to political considerations,” Jaishankar said.
The external affairs minister was referring to China, a UNSC member, putting technical hold on terrorists who were masterminds of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and continue to enjoy state support from Pakistan as they indulge in anti-India activities aimed at destabilizing the region.
“This undermines our collective credibility and interests. The key aspect of combating terrorism is to tackle terror financing,” Jaishankar said.
Jaishankar pointed out that terrorism financing needs to be halted first and it can be achieved by effective and transparent functioning of the UN Security Council’s sanctions regime and ensure they are not rendered ineffective.
“We all know money is the lifeblood of terrorism. Terrorists organisation require funds to maintain their organisational functions and their activities. It points out that terrorism gets the financial resources to thrive,” Jaishankar said.
Jaishankar then laid out important points for the committee’s considerations while also reflecting that the FATF should continue to collaborate with other forums.
“Effective and sustained efforts at countering terror financing is at the heart of the issue of countering terrorism; normative efforts at the UN; need to be coordinated with collaboration with other fora like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Egmont Group,” Jaishankar said.
Pakistan exited the FATF’s ‘Grey List’ earlier this month, which surprised India and several other international observers since it continues to support terrorism and anti-India activities and its planners which operate in its soil.
Ahead of the meeting which is being held at Hotel Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai, which was also at the focal point of the terrorist attack in 2008, paid respects at the 26/11 Memorial ahead of the briefing.
Joint Secretary Pankaj Thakur played an audio clip, where Sajid Mir – one of the main perpetrators who could not be assigned global terrorist due to China’s technical hold at the UNSC – could be heard saying on November 26, 2008, that anyone who is seen moving must be gunned down.
Karambir Singh Kang, the general manager at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai at that time also narrated the ordeal people faced inside the Taj Hotel but lauded their steely resolve.
2016 Brussels terror attack survivor Nidhi Chaphekar, 26/11 survivor Devika Rotawan and the kin of constable Tukaram Kamble were also present at the meet and narrated stories of how acts of terrorism changed their lives.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “we have responsibility to victims” to bring “justice to perpetrators of Mumbai attacks including their masterminds.” The UK foreign secretary James Cleverly, who is on a two-day trip to India, was also present. China was also invited to attend the meet and the delegation was present in Mumbai.
(with inputs from Vinaya Deshpande and Shailendra Wangu)
Read all the Latest India News here
Comments
0 comment