India targets Pak for pursuing terrorism

NEW DELHI - India has hit out at Pakistan for pursuing terrorism as an instrument of state policy, and said such an approach is flawed and self-defeating.

“Some countries presume that they can pursue terrorism as an instrument of state policy without risks to themselves or to their standing in the international community. This is a flawed and self-defeating presumption as the war on terrorism cannot be selective,” said oreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, who is likely to meet her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir in Thimphu on the margins of a South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Committee meeting.

“New Delhi always maintained that a stable and prosperous Pakistan is in India’s interest. Pakistan must turn away from using terror-induced coercion as an instrument of policy against India,” she added.

Nirupama Rao, who was delivering a speech at a seminar on Asian Security Challenges here, emphasized that the epicenter of global terrorism is located in India’s neighborhood.

“There are terror groups, some that even enjoy the patronage of elements of state structures, that target India from across our borders. There is increasing evidence that Al-Qaeda, the LeT and the Taliban are conducting coordinated and in fact operationally fused terror attacks,” said Rao. (ANI)