Prime Minister Narendra Modi is make a strong pitch for tackling terrorism at the Saarc summit in Kathmandu beginning Wednesday and call for evolving a joint mechanism for exchange of information on terrorists and terror networks.
Underlining India’s zero tolerance towards terrorism, Modi will seek the cooperation of neighbouring countries in tackling terrorist violence and ask to ensure that their soil is not used to export terrorism into other countries.
Sources said he would also emphasis on the need for evolving a mechanism for exchanging information on terror infrastructure and their plans to launch attacks.
The summit in Kathmandu comes after an interval of three years as the last summit was held in 2011 in the Maldives.
The two-day conference is expected to discuss issues like liberalising trade, enhancing cooperation in the fields of education, healthcare, ensuring energy security and to deal with challenges of climate change.
According to the latest Global Terrorism Index, India is the sixth worst affected country by terrorism. Two other Saarc countries Afghanistan and Pakistan occupies the second and third position in the index.
Terrorism increased by 70 per cent in India from 2012 to 2013, with the number of deaths increasing from 238 to 404. “In India, there remains significant terrorist activity, including on the border between India and Pakistan,” the Index said.
The Index said terrorism in Pakistan is “strongly influenced by its proximity to Afghanistan” with most attacks occurring near the border involving the Taliban. Like in Afghanistan, terrorism increased significantly in Pakistan in 2013, with a 37 per cent increase in deaths and 28 per cent increase in injuries since 2012.
The deadliest group in Pakistan in 2013, responsible for almost a quarter of all deaths and 49 per cent of all claimed attacks, is Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistani Taliban, it said.
Terrorism is increasing in Afghanistan, with ten per cent more terrorist attacks and 13 per cent more fatalities in 2013 than 2012.
Whilst there were seven different terrorist groups active in Afghanistan, one group, the Taliban, was responsible for the majority of attacks and casualties, it added.
