ISLAMABAD: The Senate defence committee condemned on Wednesday Indian defence minister’s controversial comments about using terrorism to deal with terrorist threats to India and asked the government to take up the matter at international forums, including the UN Security Council.

The committee, headed by Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, adopted a unanimous resolution expressing its concern over Indian defence minister Manohar Parrikar’s remarks that “terrorists have to be neutralised only through terrorists”.

“The provocative and irresponsible statement of the defence minister of India, which, in reality, is tantamount to confession of the government of India pursuing a policy of state-sponsored terrorism,” the resolution adopted by the committee said.

The admission that India actually aided and abetted terrorism, the committee noted, had serious implications for all neighbours of India.

The committee called upon the government to take up the matter with the international community, particularly the United Nations Security Council, OIC and the European Union. It noted that India’s dangerous policy of using terrorism as an instrument of state policy was a serious threat to peace, security, stability and good-neighbourly relations in South Asia and undermined the global war against terrorism and extremism.

The defence committee said it would examine the reports of RAW’s involvement with terrorism in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2015

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