The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary– Oct 31, 2022; Day 372

United against terror: On UNSC Counter-Terrorism Committee meeting in India

India must continue to persuade (Win approval or support for) others that terrorism is a threat to humanity

India’s decision to host the United Nations Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) is an important marker (A distinguishing symbol) of the Government’s ongoing effort to highlight terrorism issues at a time the global body has been more focused on the Ukraine war. Held in Mumbai and Delhi, it brought UN officials, and ministers and diplomats from all members of the Security Council (UNSC), to discuss challenges to the global counter-terrorism architecture (the structure or design of anything). In Mumbai, the spotlight (A focus of public attention) was on the 26/11 attacks. Despite the global nature of the terror targets, India has had an uphill (Against difficulties) battle since 2008 in international cooperation to pursue the case, and in bringing the lone (Being the only one; single and isolated from others) surviving attacker, Ajmal Kasab, through a full trial and execution (Putting a condemned person to death). After a brief period of information sharing, Pakistan has dragged its feet on prosecuting even LeT commanders Hafiz Saeed, Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi and others that its Federal Investigative Agency held responsible for the attacks. During the UNSC conference, the attendees heard not only from victims of the attacks but also voice samples of LeT recruiter Sajid Mir directing terrorists during the attacks; even so Mir, now in a Pakistani prison on terror financing charges, after Pakistan’s grey-listing (Those countries which are not considered as the safe heaven for supporting terror funding and money laundering) at the Financial Action Task Force mandated action, has not been tried. The U.S., which has cooperated in many other ways with India on terrorism, convicted (find or declare guilty) conspirators David Headley and Tahawwur Rana for the attacks, but has refused to extradite (Hand over to the authorities of another country) them. Meanwhile, China continues to block designating LeT leaders on the UNSC 1267 terror list, a problem External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken specifically mentioned at the conference.

In Delhi, the CTC focus was on online radicalisation (Make more radical in social or political outlook) and terror recruitment, terror financing through crypto-currency and virtual assets, and unmanned aerial system use including drones for terror strikes, transporting drugs and arms. The deliberations (discussion of all sides of a question) led to the “Delhi Declaration on countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes”. While India has only two months left in its current elected tenure at the UNSC, the Government appears to be making efforts to keep up the momentum (An impelling force or strength) from the CTC meet; it will host an international “No Money For Terror” conference (November 18-19), and a UNSC special briefing on challenges to global counter-terrorism efforts (December 15-16). As the Indian experience with 26/11 has shown, the global community has often been long on (having or providing a large amount of (something)) statements but short on (to have less of something than you should have) cooperative action, and New Delhi will have to keep pressing the point that terrorism remains, in Mr. Jaishankar’s words, amongst the “gravest threats to humanity”.

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