By Sunil Kumar Batra and Ajay Kaul
New Delhi, Sep 1 (NVI) Slamming the “double standards on terrorism” adopted by some nations like China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked SCO members whether “open support to terrorism by certain countries” can be acceptable, in a reference to Pakistan whose Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was listening.
Modi raised the issue in his address at the Summit meeting of the 10-nation SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) in Tianjin in China in the context of the April 22 terror carnage in Pahalgam in Kashmir which was perpetrated by Pakistan.
“Recently, we witnessed the most heinous face of terrorism in Pahalgam,” he said, referring to the attack in which 26 innocent tourists and a local man were massacred in cold blood by 3 Pakistani terrorists.
“This attack was not only an assault on the conscience of India, but also an open challenge to every nation, and every individual who believes in humanity,” Modi said, and expressed his deep gratitude to all the friendly nations that stood by India during that moment of grief.
The Prime Minister highlighted that “India has been bearing the grave scars of ruthless terrorism” for the last four decades and “Countless mothers have lost their children, and innumerable children have been left orphaned” because of this scourge.
He then added, “In such circumstances, it is natural to ask: Can the open support for terrorism by certain countries ever be acceptable to us?”
His reference was obviously towards Pakistan, which has been using terrorism as an extended arm of its foreign policy against India under its decades-old policy of ‘Bleed India by a thousand cuts’.
“We must state it clearly and in one voice: double standards on terrorism are unacceptable,” Modi emphasized at the meeting, with apparently China in mind because of its all-out defence of Pakistan over the issue of cross-terrorism being pursued by it against India.
China has always been bailing out Pakistan at international fora, like the UN, over the issue of cross-border terrorism against India and thus emboldening it to pursue the menace.
Underlining that “terrorism is not only a threat to the security of individual nations, but a shared challenge to all of humanity,” the Indian Prime Minister said, “Together, we must oppose terrorism in every form and manifestation. This is our responsibility towards humanity.” (NVI)
