NEW DELHI: Condemning the efforts to use ‘terrorism as instruments of state policy’, India and United Arab Emirates on Friday said that it was the responsibility of all nations to control activities of ‘non-state actors’.
The joint statement, issued after the visit of UAE’s Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has taken forward the strong position on terrorism reached during PM Narendra Modi visit last August.
The 2015 document had stopped at condemning efforts by states to use religions to justify terror policy. This time, the joint statement went further, stating, “They reiterated their condemnation for efforts, including by states, to use religion to justify, support and sponsor terrorism against other countries, or to use terrorism as instrument of state policy.” For India, this was an indirect reference to Pakistan - while UAE likely had Iran on its mind.
“They further deplored efforts by countries to give religious and sectarian colour to political issues and pointed out the responsibility of all states to control the activities of the so-called ‘non-state actors’, and to cut all support to terrorists operating and perpetrating terrorism from their territories against other states,” the bilateral document added. “The two leaders further called upon the international community to strengthen international and multilateral regimes to effectively address the challenges posed by terrorism, and to not allow political considerations stand in the way of their implementation,” said the joint statement.
Indian officials interpret this as a rebuke to Pakistan for not taking action against international terrorists as per United Nations Security Council resolutions. Both the countries have also established an annual policy dialogue to discuss “issues related to peace and security” and to strengthen their “dialogue on regional security issues of mutual interest”.