BENAULIM (GOA): The theme was
terrorism all the way at the
Brics summit meeting here as PM Narendra
Modi used the forum to keep up his attack on
Pakistan, describing it as the “mother ship” of terrorism that posed a direct threat to the “eco prosperity” of the region.
With India labelling Pakistan a terrorist state in the wake of the
attack on the Army camp at Uri, Modi has used multilateral forums like the G-20 meeting at Hangzhou and the Asean conclave in Laos to lash out at Pakistan for supporting terrorism. “Tragically, its (terrorism)
mother ship
is a country in India's neighbourhood,” Modi said in the
presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping , Pakistan's longstanding ally, at a restricted Brics meeting.
Like at Hangzhou and Laos, where he accused “one country” of spreading terrorism, Modi stopped just short of directly naming Pakistan. “We agreed that those who nurture, shelter, support and sponsor forces of violence and terror are as much a threat to us as the terrorists themselves,” Modi said, as he insisted there was unanimity within Brics on the issue of terrorism.
But the Chinese articulation was more muted. Speaking during the plenary session,
Xi said it was imperative to step up coordination on major international issues, “regional hotspots” and find a political solution to these. Interestingly, Chinese reports on Saturday’s Modi-Xi meeting did not contain any reference to counterterrorism.
While the
Goa Declaration
issued after the Brics summit did not mention cross-border terrorism mainly due to China’s resistance, it contained some significant differences from previous outcome documents. It noted the responsibility of all states to prevent terrorist activities from their territories. And importantly, in the context of India’s surgical strikes across the Line of Control, it listed dismantling of terrorist bases among measures needed for a comprehensive approach to fighting terrorism.
The document also noted that “political” causes were not acceptable reasons to condone terror. MEA secretary (economic relations) Amar Sinha, who coordinates diplomacy relating to Brics, said India was satisfied with the outcome document even though the group couldn’t arrive at a consensus on naming Pakistan-based terror groups like Jaish-e-Muhammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
In the context of international issues like climate change, terrorism and natural disasters, Xi called for a multi-pronged approach which sought to address “both symptoms and root causes”. Sinha, however, said he did not believe Xi was referring to root causes of terrorism, adding that the Chinese have been seeking political solutions to all hotspots.
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