Nations backing terror should face action, says Rajnath Singh

“There should be strongest action not only against terrorists or organisations but also against those individuals, organisations and nations who support terrorism,” Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh told a meeting of SAARC Interior/Home Ministers’ Conference in Islamabad on Thursday.

“There should be no glorification or eulogising of terrorists as martyrs,“ Mr. Singh said adding that there were no good terrorists or bad terrorists.

Calling for the isolation of “those who provide support, encouragement, give sanctuary and safe haven and assistance to terrorists and terrorism”, Mr. Singh said, “Mere condemnation of terrorism and terrorists is not enough.”

Mr. Singh arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday to attend the meeting and was flown to a five star hotel in a helicopter amid security concerns arising out of protests led by Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s Jamaat-ud-Dawah activists, a front organisation of terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba.

In his inaugural address at the conference, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Islamabad is committed to jointly working with SAARC member countries for fighting terrorism, corruption and organised crimes.

Mr. Sharif cited Pakistan’s anti-terror operations in restive tribal areas and National Action Plan to emphasise “the government’s determination to eliminate the scourge of terrorism from our soil for good.”

He said the SAARC region is blessed with tremendous human and natural resources. “So, SAARC can and should provide a platform to optimally harness the regional potential for peace and prosperity of our people.”