Athens: By unequivocally condemning the 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack and adopting a firm stance against the cross-border movement of terrorists, terror financing, safe havens and double standards in addressing terrorism, BRICS has reinforced an argument India has made before the world for decades, a report has mentioned.
The position outlined in the New Delhi Declaration adopted during the recent 18th BRICS Summit hosted by India underscored that terrorism cannot be legitimised through political explanations, nor can countries selectively distinguish between terrorists based on strategic convenience, Athens-based ‘Directus’ stated.
“Pakistan has not been expressly named. That fact should neither be concealed nor exaggerated. Yet the political significance of the declaration lies precisely in the terminology accepted by a diverse group of important nations. For India, the development represents an important diplomatic achievement,” the report noted.
Highlighting that the development presents an increasingly uncomfortable question for Pakistan, it asked how long the international narrative on cross-border terrorism could remain detached from the infrastructure, organisations and ideological networks that India has repeatedly accused of operating from Pakistani territory.
The report stated that the brutal Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025, carried out by a Pakistan-based terrorist group that killed 26 innocent civilians, was not allowed to be buried among the countless terrorist attacks India has suffered.
“India made it an international diplomatic issue. The BRICS declaration’s condemnation of the attack in the strongest terms gives the tragedy an important multilateral dimension. More significantly, the condemnation comes alongside language dealing with cross-border terrorism, financing and safe havens. That combination matters. India has consistently maintained that terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir cannot be viewed merely through the prism of a political dispute,” Directus mentioned.
“Terrorists require weapons, training, finance, communications, recruitment networks and places from which to operate. Fighting terrorism therefore requires action not merely against the individual who pulls the trigger but against the entire ecosystem that enables him. That principle has now received significant endorsement within BRICS,” it added.
The declaration, the report noted, also reflected the strength of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s multidirectional foreign policy, with India engaging at the same time with countries that frequently disagree with one another.
“It participates in the Quad while remaining one of the principal members of BRICS. It maintains its historic relationship with Russia while building an increasingly consequential partnership with the United States. It has dramatically expanded its engagement with the Gulf countries while maintaining close relations with Israel. At the same time, despite big differences with China, India continues engaging Beijing wherever national interests require it,” the report in Directus highlighted.
According to the report, while India’s strategic autonomy has sometimes been criticised as difficult to balance, BRICS demonstrated its utility.
“India has managed to place its core security concerns before a grouping containing countries with dramatically different geopolitical interests and secure a meaningful consensus. That strengthens India’s credibility as an independent global power rather than an appendage of any geopolitical bloc,” it stated.
(IANS)
