Heart of Asia Summit: Terrorism takes centre stage, Modi calls for 'resolute' action

Cross-border terrorism once again took centre stage at an international platform as the 6th Annual Heart of Asia Summit adopted the Amritsar Declaration that reiterated the need to stem terrorism in the region on Sunday.

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed aspects of strengthening counter-terror cooperation at the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process conference, which saw participation of over eight foreign ministers and dignitaries of 14 other countries from south and central Asia and several western countries.

In a clear message to Pakistan, Modi called for “resolute action” not just against forces of terrorism but also against those who support, shelter, train and finance them, saying silence and inaction will only embolden terrorists and their masters.

In his inaugural address at the 6th conference of Heart of Asia, a platform to help Afghanistan in its transition, Modi said the growing arc of terrorist violence is posing the gravest threat to the region.

“Terrorism and externally induced instability pose the gravest threat to Afghanistan’s peace, stability and prosperity. And, the growing arc of terrorist violence endangers our entire region. As such, support for voices of peace in Afghanistan alone is not enough,” he said.

“It must be backed by resolute action. Not just against forces of terrorism, but also against those who support, shelter, train and finance them,” the prime minister said.

“Silence and inaction against terrorism in Afghanistan and our region will only embolden terrorists and their masters. Third, our bilateral and regional commitments of material assistance for Afghanistan’s development and humanitarian needs must continue and increase,” Modi added.

The prime minister said there was a need to demonstrate strong and collective will to defeat terror networks that cause bloodshed and spread fear.

Even though Modi refrained from naming Pakistan at the summit, which also saw the attendance of Pakistan’s de facto foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz, the Afghan Premier went all out and openly named Pakistan as a terror ‘sanctuary’.

Ghani, in his Sunday’s speech at the summit, unambiguously named Pakistan for promoting terrorism and said no amount of financial assistance can help stabilise the war-ravaged nation if “support to terrorists” from the neighbouring country continued.

He said that military operations in Pakistan have brought about selective displacement of terrorists.

“The state-sponsored sanctuaries exist in Pakistan. A Taliban figure said recently if they had no sanctuary in Pakistan, they wouldn’t last for more than a month,” Ghani said at the two-day event being hosted by India in Amritsar.

Even though the Afghan President thanked Pakistan for its pledge to donate $500 million for reconstruction of the war-ravaged nation, he did not shy away from lashing out at the terrorism emanating from the Pakistani soil.

Directly addressing Pakistan’s top diplomat, Ghani said, “I hope that you (Sartaj Aziz) use it to fight terrorists and extremists in Pakistan.”

Ghani shared India’s concern on cross-border terrorism and said the world needed to fight the “menace”.

“Afghanistan suffered the highest number of casualties last year. This is unacceptable. Some (countries) still provide sanctuary for terrorists,” he said

The Afghan president said he didn’t want to engage in a blame game at this event but wanted clarification on what is being done to “prevent the export of terror”.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani diplomat also hit back reiterating that his country “is committed to lasting peace in Afghanistan and the region”.

Aziz on Sunday said that it was wrong to hold only one country responsible for the violence in the region.

“We are cognisant that Afghanistan continues to face serious challenges… This needs to be addressed,” a CNN-News18 report said.

“It’s simplistic to blame only one country for the recent upsurge in violence. We need to have an objective and holistic view,” he said.

Aziz said Pakistan had “been making serious efforts for facilitating peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban that have not yet produced positive results”.

“We need to make an objective evaluation of our efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan,” he added.

Aziz said his government stood in solidarity with the elected government and people of Afghanistan in furthering the objective of peace, stability and development.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who was representing an ailing External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also pressed for the need of eliminating terrorism in the region while stating that “neighbours of Afghanistan” have a particular responsibility in this regard. Jaitley also announced the adoption of an anti-terror declaration at the annual summit, highlighting that it is the biggest impediment to putting Afghanistan back on the trajectory of development and growth.

The theme for the Heart of Asia Summit this year is ‘Addressing Challenges, Achieving Prosperity’. As Afghanistan faces the challenges related to its multiple transitions, focused and sustained support will be required from all friends of Afghanistan in the international community for overcoming these challenges and achieving durable peace and prosperity, Jaitley said.

The declaration, while reaffirmed the attendee nation’s commitment for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan, recognised that “terrorism is the biggest threat to peace, stability and cooperation in our region.”

The Amritsar Declaration said: “We strongly call for concerted regional and international cooperation to ensure elimination of terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, including dismantling of terrorist sanctuaries and safe havens in the Heart of Asia region, as well as disrupting all financial, tactical and logistical support for terrorism.”

The declaration, although subtly, also acknowledged that terrorism finds roots in the region only because there is a support mechanism available locally. “Acknowledging the support that terrorism derives in our region, we demand an immediate end to all forms of terrorism, as well as all support to it, including financing of terrorism,” the declaration further added while highlighting the pandemic of terrorism.

The Amritsar Declaration also urged the member states to continue to work towards the goal stating: “We strongly call for concerted regional and international cooperation to ensure elimination of terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, including dismantling of terrorist sanctuaries and safe havens in the Heart of Asia region, as well as disrupting all financial, tactical and logistical support for terrorism.”

With inputs from agencies