ALMATY, June 4: A 16-nation Asian summit in Kazakhstan approved on Tuesday an anti-terrorism declaration which commits its signatories including India and Pakistan to not support separatist movements.

The statement approved by the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) denounced “all forms and manifestations of terrorism whenever, wherever or whoever may commit them.”

In addition to the terrorism declaration, the CICA members also signed a broader founding Almaty Act which had first been approved last September.

The act also “condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and any support or acceptance of it and the failure to condemn it directly.”

A wide-ranging document which sets out the annual conference’s overall objectives, the act identifies “separatism as one of the main threats and challenges to security and stability” in the region.

Its key clause on terrorism said member states “will not support any separatist movement on the territory of another member state.”

It pledged CICA signatories to “unite their efforts to prevent terrorism either being prepared, launched and financed from the territory of a state, and we refuse to offer protection or a home to terrorists.”

In the separate anti-terrorism statement, the signatories said they were “deeply concerned about the spread of acts of terrorism throughout the world, including in CICA member-countries.”

The text said: “We are determined to combat terrorism and strengthen bilateral, regional and international cooperation in keeping with the UN Charter.

“We denounce all forms and manifestations of terrorism whenever, wherever or whomever may commit them. And no considerations whatever may be used to justify terrorism. We are convinced that terrorism constitutes a direct violation of human rights. “We emphasize that the removal of terrorism is a common objective of all cultures and civilizations.”

Attempting to reconcile the principle of self-determination with that of territorial integrity of its member states, the Almaty Act recognised the rights of “peoples living under foreign occupation” but barred CICA members from backing separatist movements acting on the territory of other members.

The 16 signatories are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, the Palestinian Authority, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan.—AFP