Jaishankar's stern message on terrorism: ‘Ludicrous that you are only helpless…’

The threat of terrorism has become more serious as lone-wolf radicalisation has been now added to the spectrum while al-Qaida, Daesh and Boko Haram have expanded, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday chairing the UNSC briefing on Global Approach to Counter Terrorism. In a sharp swipe at Pakistan, Jaishankar said the established networks of terror are still alive in South Asia and the contemporary epicentre of terrorism remains very much alive and active, whatever gloss may be applied to minimise unpleasant realities.

As Jaishankar explained four specific challenges of the counter-terrorism action, he said terror is terror despite the explanations. "The world may not be willing to buy the justifications and cover-ups as in the past. We know terror is terror. The question now arises as to the responsibilities of the state from whose soil such actions are planned, supported and perpetrated," he said.

Uniform criteria are not applied to sanction terrorists, Jaishankar said enumerating the challenges and added that sometimes it would seem that the ownership of terrorism is more important that its actual perpetration and consequences.

It is well-established where and how terrorists are operating and under what kind of protection, Jaishankar said. "The days when it could be said that we were unaware are now behind us. The response of the sponsors of terrorism is not to give up but to conduct and execute their agenda at arm's length. To do this, they create narratives of limitations and difficulties. We buy such explanations at our own peril," Jaishankar said.

"The suggestion that the state was apparently capable of everything else but is only helpless when it comes to terrorism is ludicrous," Jaishankar said.

A challenge that comes from inside the Security Council is to consider terrorism as a strategy. "Those invested in terrorism have used such cynicim to carry on. It is not just plain wrong but could be downright dangerous, even for the very people whose toleration extends this far," Jaishankar said.