Terming money the lifeblood of terrorism, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday highlighted how terrorists continue to get financial resources to maintain their organizational functions and said the reality that terrorism continues to exist and expand points to an underlying truth.
Ahead of the 14th anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai attacks in November, India is hosting the two-day anti-terrorism meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) starting Friday. The key UNSC meeting, under New Delhi's chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), is taking place at one of the main sites that saw the dastardly terror attacks - the Taj Hotel in Mumbai.
Speaking before the Informal Briefing of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, Jaishankar said, "We all know that money is the lifeblood of terrorism. Terrorist organizations require funds and resources to maintain their organizational functions and undertake activities. The reality that terrorism continues to exist and expand points to an underlying truth: that terrorism continues to get the necessary financial resources to thrive."
"A key aspect of combating terrorism is to effectively curb terror financing. Today, the Counter-Terrorism Committee will also be hearing from experts on countering the financing of terrorism in the local & regional context," he said.
On November 26, 2008, 10 terrorists trained by the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) carried out a series of coordinated attacks against multiple targets in Mumbai, killing 166 people.
Jaishnkar said one of the terrorists was captured alive, prosecuted and convicted by India but key conspirators and planners of the 26/11 attacks continue to remain protected.
The minister said that when it comes to proscribing some of these terrorists, the UN Security Council has regrettably been unable to act in some cases because of political considerations. "This undermines our collective credibility and our collective interests."
Asking the international community to remember the trauma faced by victims of the Mumbai terror attacks, EAM said "Your presence here demonstrates the commitment that each one of you and your countries and all other stakeholders from various organisations have shown towards combating the common threat of terrorism."
Jaishanakar said terrorism is a serious threat to international peace and security, indeed, to the entire humanity. "We have heard the voices of its victims today. Their loss is immeasurable," he added while referring to the victim's accounts that were heard prior to his speech.
The external affairs minister stressed the need to remember the trauma of victims of the Mumbai attacks to bring the perpetrators of terrorism to justice.
"However, it's incumbent on us, as responsible members of the international community to remember that trauma and to persevere in our efforts to bring the perpetrators of terrorism to justice. We owe this to every victim of terrorism across the world," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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