Rio de Janeiro: In what is being viewed as a major diplomatic success for India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leaders of the BRICS countries on Sunday strongly condemned the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack while reaffirming their commitment to combatting cross-border movement of terrorists, terror financing and terrorist safe havens and also taking concerted actions against all UN-designated terrorists and terrorist entities.
As many as 26 innocent tourists were massacred in the Pakistan-sponsored terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, a heinous act condemned throughout the world.
The ‘Rio de Janeiro Declaration’ adopted after the first day’s proceedings at the 17th BRICS Summit being held in the Brazilian city, expressed “strong condemnation of any acts of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable,” regardless of their motivation, whenever, wherever and by whomsoever committed.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April 2025, during which at least 26 people were killed and many more injured. We reaffirm our commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, terrorism financing and safe havens,” read Paragraph 34 of the Rio Declaration.
Investigations into the Pahalgam terror attack brought out the communication nodes of terrorists in and to Pakistan. A group calling itself The Resistance Front (TRF) – a front for the UN-proscribed Pakistani terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba – had claimed responsibility for the attack.
While committing the barbaric act in Pahalgam, the Pakistani terrorists killed Indian and Nepalese nationals and injured several others after segregating them on the basis of religion.
“We reiterate that terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilisation or ethnic group and that all those involved in terrorist activities and their support must be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with relevant national and international law,” the BRICS leaders jointly stated on Sunday.
“We urge to ensure zero tolerance for terrorism and reject double standards in countering terrorism. We emphasise the primary responsibility of States in combating terrorism and that global efforts to prevent and counter terrorist threats must fully comply with their obligations under international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, in particular the purposes and principles thereof, and relevant international conventions and protocols, in particular international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, as applicable,” the declaration added.
The leaders of the grouping also welcomed the activities of the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Working Group (CTWG) and its five Subgroups based upon the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Strategy, the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Action Plan and the CTWG position paper.
“We look forward to further deepening counter-terrorism cooperation. We call for an expeditious finalisation and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the UN framework. We call for concerted actions against all UN-designated terrorists and terrorist entities,” the declaration stated.
Last month, while spotlighting the horrendous Pahalgam terror attack and India’s subsequent Operation Sindoor to dismantle terror infrastructure across the border, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval had called for the urgent need to shun double standards in the fight against terrorism and take decisive actions against UN-proscribed terrorists and entities.
Addressing the 20th meeting of the Security Council Secretaries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States in Beijing, NSA Doval said that India is deeply concerned about continued threat from terror groups designated by United Nations Security Council (UNSC), including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) — two of the most dangerous and state-supported terror outfits operating out of Pakistan – besides Al Qaeda, ISIS and its affiliates.
In his intervention during the SCO meeting held in Beijing, he highlighted the need to shun double standards in the fight against terrorism and take decisive actions against UN-proscribed terrorists and entities like LeT, JeM and their proxies and dismantle their terror ecosystems.
India had also called on SCO members to hold accountable the perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of acts of cross-border terror and to help bring them to justice.
(IANS)
