Export of terror: Modi raps Pakistan again at summit

Indian prime minister addresses ASEAN leaders in Vientiane, Laos

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought a coordinated response from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-member nations to combat menace of “export of terror” in the region in an apparent reference to Pakistan.

“Export of terror, growing radicalisation and spread of extreme violence are common security threats to our societies,” the Indian premier said while addressing the 14^th ASEAN-India summit in Vientiane, Laos on Thursday.

US President Barack Obama (C) waves with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L), Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (2nd L), Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (2nd R) and Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith (R) as they pose during a group photo for the 11th East Asia Summit, part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Vientiane on September 8, 2016. PHOTO: AFP

Terming the export of terror a common security threat to the whole region, Modi noted that growing radicalism through the ideology of hatred and spread of extreme violence were the other security threats imminent in the region, according to The Hindu.

“The threat is local, regional, and transitional at the same time. Our partnership with ASEAN seeks to craft a response through coordination, cooperation at multiple levels,” Modi said in his address to ASEAN leaders. “We are willing to take concrete steps to enhance cooperation in cyber security, de-radicalisation and counterterrorism,” he added.



In a veiled attack on Islamabad at G20 summit in China’s Hangzhou on Monday the Indian prime minister declared Pakistan the “one single nation” responsible of fomenting terror in the region. Modi’s remarks at the summit were shared by India’s Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Sarup on Twitter. “Indeed, one single nation in South Asia is spreading these agents of terror in the countries of our region,” Modi reportedly remarked.

Relations between the arch-rivals have worsened since the killing of HuM commander Burhan Wani in a shootout in Indian-held Kashmir on July 8. Wani’s killing sparked mass protests, leaving at least 70 protesters dead and hundreds injured.

Earlier on August 12, Pakistan offered to hold discussions with India to calm unrest in Kashmir, but New Delhi turned down the offer. Modi also targeted Pakistan in his Independence Day address, saying the country would have to answer for "rights violations" in Balochistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

On September 1, army chief General Raheel Sharif told Indian prime minister and its top spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) that Pakistan’s borders were completely secure and that the country understood the conspiracies being hatched against it well.

This article originally appeared on The Hindu.