Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that only a uniform, unified and zero-tolerance approach can defeat terrorism. He was addressing the third ‘No Money for Terror’ (NMFT) Ministerial Conference on Counter-Terrorism Financing in New Delhi.
He warned against any ambiguity in tackling terrorism. He touched upon the mistaken notions of terrorism and said “the intensity of the reaction to different attacks cannot vary based on where it happens.
All terrorist attacks deserve equal outrage and action. Further, sometimes, there are indirect arguments made in support of terrorism to block action against terrorists. He underlined that there is no place for an ambiguous approach while dealing with a global threat.
He said that there is no good terrorism and bad terrorism. It is an attack on humanity, freedom and civilisation. It knows no boundaries. Throwing light on the difference between fighting a terrorist and fighting terrorism, the Prime Minister said that a terrorist may be neutralised with weapons and immediate tactical responses but these tactical gains will soon be lost without a larger strategy aimed at hurting their finances.
Modi said, “A terrorist is an individual but terrorism is about a network of individuals.” The Prime Minister underlined that attack is the best form of defence and uprooting terrorism needs a larger, proactive, systemic response. He emphasised that we must pursue terrorists, break their support networks and hit their finances for our citizens to be safe.
The Prime Minister highlighted state support as one of the major sources of political, ideological and financial support to terrorism. Certain countries support terrorists as part of their foreign policy, he said. He also asked International organisations to be vigilant about proxy wars.
“There must be a cost imposed upon countries that support terrorism. Organisations and individuals that try to create sympathy for terrorists must also be isolated. There can be no ifs and buts entertained in such matters. The world needs to unite against all kinds of overt and covert backing of terror”, he added.
Modi underlined organised crime as another source of terror funding and emphasised deep links between the criminal gangs and terrorist outfits “action against organised crime is extremely important in the fight against terror. At times, even activities like money laundering and financial crimes have been known to help terror funding. Fighting it needs global collaboration”, he said.
