India on Wednesday (local time) urged global communities to call out Pakistan for supporting terror outfits operating from the territories under their control. Speaking at the United Nations Security Council Arria-formula meeting on “Transnational Terrorist Threats” Indian diplomat, Rajesh Parihar said, “It is high time that the international community calls out such states – Pakistan, and seek effective, credible, verifiable, and irreversible actions from them against terror outfits operating from the territories under their control, without further delay.”
Hitting out hard at terror groups, such as Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Hizb-ulMujahideen (HuM) in Pakistan, he said, “UN-designated terror groups, such as LeT, HUM, JeM continue to operate from across the border targeting civilians, security forces, places of worship and critical infrastructure in India.” The threats posed by these groups to India have also recently been highlighted in the 13th report of “Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team” to the 1988 Committee.
Parihar also highlighted the expansion of new and emerging technologies by the terrorist group to achieve their vicious goals. “Terrorism continues to remain the gravest threat to humanity in spite of efforts by the international community, including those led by UNSC in the past two-decade to combat and curb its menace. The threat of terrorism is not only growing and expanding at a rate of rapid pace into new areas, particularly in Asia and Africa but is also exorbitant by the expansion of new and emerging technologies by the terrorist group to achieve their vicious goals,” he said.
Terrorists adapting to new technologies
India has been at the receiving end of state-sponsored cross-border terrorism for the past several decades. “In the recent post we have witnessed that these terrorist groups and their proxies are increasingly adapting to the use of new and emerging technologies such as internet, social media and encrypted messaging services, cryptocurrencies, crowd-funding platforms to disseminate propaganda, recruit cadre and raise and transfer funds to finance their activities against India,” said Parihar. There have been a notable increase and the use of drones for trafficking arms and drugs, as well as, launching terror attacks. In Africa, drones have been used by terrorist groups to monitor the movement of security forces and peace-keepers making them vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
In the recent past, terrorists launched cross-border drone attacks on UAE and Saudi Arabia targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, resulting in loss of lives and injuries to Indian nationals. “India has condemned these cross-border drone attacks in UAE and Saudi Arabia. We also condemned the terrorist attack by Al-Shabab on a hotel two weeks ago in which more than 20 people lost their lives,” said the Indian diplomat. Forty people died and over 70 were injured from the attack by Al-Shabaab terrorists after they stormed the Hayat Hotel in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.
Parihar urged the Council to pay close attention to the use of new technologies by terrorist groups, a new and emerging trend to assess this threat and ensure an effective and timely response to address this threat.
He further said that India as Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee will be hosting a special meeting of CTC in Mumbai and New Delhi from October 28-30, 2022 for a comprehensive discussion on this issue – associated risks, best practices and the way to address this threat.
“We also need to see concrete steps that proscribed terrorists or their aliases do not get any support – tacit or direct – from the terror sanctuaries. It is high time that the international community calls out such states – Pakistan, and seek effective, credible, verifiable, and irreversible actions from them against terror outfits operating from the territories under their control, without further delay,” said Parihar.
He also stressed strengthening Counter-Terrorism architecture at the UN. “I would like to recall the 8-point action-plan proposed by India`s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during his statement on January 12, 2021, at the Ministerial Meeting on the 20th anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1373 and the establishment of Counter-Terrorism Committee,” said Parihar.
Jaishankar had focussed on:
- summon the political will, don’t justify terrorism, don’t glorify terrorists,
- no double standards – terrorists are terrorists, no good or bad distinction needed,
- don’t place the block and hold on listing without any reason
- discourage exclusivist thinking by avoiding new terminologies and false priorities that may divide our fight,
- enlist and delist objectively, not on political or religious considerations,
- recognize the linkages between organized crime and terrorism,
- support and strengthen anti-money laundering and combating terror-financing efforts of FATF
- provide greater funding to the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism from the regular UN budget to enhance its autonomy.