Hinduphobia and acts of religious hatred against Sikhism and Buddhism must be recognised by the United Nations, said India’s envoy to the inter-governmental body, The Hindu reported. “Violent nationalism” and “right-wing extremism” should not be included in the definition of terrorism, he added.
TS Tirumurti, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, made the statement on Tuesday at the International Counter Terrorism Conference 2022 organised by Delhi-based think tank Global Counter-Terrorism Council, PTI reported.
Tirumurti is also the chairperson of the United Nations Security Council’s Counter-terrorism Committee for 2022.
He said that the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy’s 7th review, which was passed in the United Nations General Assembly in June 2021, only underlined phobias against Islam, Christianity and Judaism.
“The emergence of contemporary forms of religiophobia, especially anti-Hindu, anti-Buddhist and anti-Sikh phobias is a matter of serious concern and needs [the] attention of the UN and all member states to address this threat,” he said, according to The Hindu.
Tirumurti added that national or regional narratives must not become part of global discourse.
“It is important to understand that in democracies right-wing and left-wing are part of the polity primarily because they come to power through the ballot reflecting the majority will of the people and also since democracy by definition contains a broad spectrum of ideologies and beliefs,” he said.
‘1993 bomb blast perpetrators in Pakistan’
The crime syndicate behind the 1993 bomb blasts in Mumbai is enjoying five-star hospitality in Pakistan, Tirumuti said, PTI reported.
The envoy’s remarks were purportedly about fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, who is believed to be in Pakistan.
In August 2020, Ibrahim was among the 88 terrorists listed in a Statutory Regulatory Order by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, the country later denied that the listing amounted to an acknowledgement that the fugitive gangster was in its territory.
Tirumurti also claimed that al-Qaida’s links with Pakistan-based terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed have strengthened over time, PTI reported.
The envoy to the United Nations said that the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States were a “turning point” in India’s approach towards terrorism. The attacks, Tirumurti said, highlighted that the threat of terrorism was universal and could only be defeated through collective efforts.
“Consequently, the era of classifying terrorists as ‘your terrorist’ and ‘my terrorist’ was over,” he said. “Terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is to be condemned and there cannot be any exception or justification for any act of terrorism, regardless of motivations behind such acts, and wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.”
On October 21, global anti-terrorism watchdog Financial Action Task Force put Pakistan on its “grey list” for failing to comply with an action plan to combat terrorism. The grey list comprises countries that are under increased monitoring.
The task force has noted that Pakistan reportedly did not prosecute members of United Nations-designated terror groups, including Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar.
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