India at United Nations pays homage to CRPF personnel killed in Pulwama terror attack

Delivering India's national statement at the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee, Rajesh Parihar, First Secretary, India's Permanent Mission to UN said: "At the outset, I would like to recall that three years ago exactly today 40 brave Indian security personnel were martyred in a dastardly terrorist attack in Pulwama, India, carried out by Jaish E Mohammad. I pay my homage to their sacrifice."

He said that India has been at the receiving end of terror acts, including cross-border terrorism, for the past several decades. He added that the country has also been at the forefront of our collective global fight against terrorism, advocating and practicing a "zero tolerance" policy towards terrorism.

"We remain fully committed to implementing Security Council and General Assembly resolutions to strengthen the United Nations counterterrorism efforts," Parihar said.

A suicide bomber had rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the bus. The convoy had 78 buses in which around 2,500 personnel were travelling from Jammu to Srinagar in India.

Days after the attack, the Indian Air Force on February 26, 2019 carried out multiple aerialstrikes at JeM terror camps in Pakistan's Balakot, killing a "large number" of terrorists and destroying their infrastructure.

Highlighting the terrorist threat posed by State-sponsored terrorism in the South Asia region, India said that many countries in the South Asia region have been victims of State-sponsored terrorism in the last 5 decades.

"The UN-designated terrorist groups, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Harkat-ul-Mujahidin, and Jaish-e-Mohammad, as well as their aliases and proxies continue to operate in the region targeting civilians, security forces, places of worship, soft targets and critical infrastructure," Rajesh Parihar said.

India also noted that the world had witnessed the horrors of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, the 2016 Pathankot terror attack, and the 2019 Pulwama terrorist attack. "We all know from where the perpetrators of these attacks came from," he said without naming Pakistan.

"It is regretful that the victims of these dastardly attacks are yet to get justice, and the perpetrators, facilitators and financiers of these attacks continue to walk free, still enjoying State support and hospitality. This epicentre of terrorism nurtures terrorist entities with links to more than 150 UN-designated entities and individuals, and its leaders often extol terrorists as "martyrs," he said.

"We have consistently witnessed terror attacks on ethnic, sectarian and religious minorities, including Christians, Hindus and Sikhs. The growth of extremist ideology in our neighbouring state is bolstered by their patronage of radical outfits. The mainstreaming of radicalism and communal ideology by the State has also provided a fertile environment for the growth of terror infrastructure in the region," the Indian Rajesh Parihar further said.

Meanwhile, India is fully committed to bringing the perpetrators of the terror attacks on its soil to justice. "

"We hope that Counter-Terrorism Committee, its Executive Directorate - CTED, and the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team will pay close attention to the terrorist threat emerging from Al-Qaida, particularly, their affiliates, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed as well as the atrocities of terrorist groups against religious minorities," Parihar said.

Furthermore, India has taken several border security measures aimed at stemming terrorist travel. It has updated and modernized its immigration records and passports and implemented a tighter immigration control through centralized systems like Immigration Visa Foreigner Registration Tracking (IVFRT), to facilitate legitimate travellers and strengthen security.

Parihar noted that External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar had proposed an 8-point "Action Plan" in his clarion call for the international community to combat the menace of terrorism effectively and comprehensively. (ANI)