How Is China Serious About Countering Terrorism If It Can’t Acknowledge A Chief Source?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had an interesting label to give Pakistan during the recently concluded BRICS Summit in Goa, attended by heads of governments of the BRICS nations, i.e., Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa besides India.
“Tragically,” Prime Minister Modi said at the summit, “the mothership of terrorism is a country in India’s neighbourhood.” (emphasis ours)
He added:
“Terror modules around the world are linked to this mothership. This country shelters not just terrorists. It nurtures a mindset. A mindset that loudly proclaims that terrorism is justified for political gains. It is a mindset we strongly condemn. And against which we as BRICS need to stand and act together.
“BRICS must speak in one voice against this threat,” Prime Minister Modi said right after. But if one thing is certain, it is that BRICS will not speak in one voice against the threat of Pakistan.
Today (17 October), responding to a question about Modi’s characterisation of Pakistan, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Hua Chunying said China was opposed to linking any country to terrorism.
Chunying said:
We oppose terrorism in all forms and we believe that international concerted efforts are needed to ensure stability and security of all countries,” adding, “We oppose linking terrorism with any specific ethnicity or religion. This is our long-standing position. China and Pakistan are all-weather friends.
What Chunying fails to understand is that terrorism can take the form of a nation too – like in the case of Pakistan, which sponsors and shelters terrorists on its soil. So if it is indeed opposed to terrorism in all its forms, it must acknowledge Pakistan’s hand in terrorism first and foremost. Otherwise, its “opposition” is nothing more than a bluff.
It’s also important to note that, as reported by Praveen Swami of The Indian Express, the BRICS summit declaration calls for action against all terrorist organisations designated as such by the United Nations, but mentions only the Islamic State and al-Qaeda’s proxy, Jabhat al-Nusra, instead of Lashkar-e-Taiba or Jaish-e-Mohammed.
This not just impedes India’s fight against terrorism but also its attempts at rallying an opposition to Pakistan and its terrorist activities.