President: India has a national commitment to fight terrorism

Murmu outlined India’s position on counter-terrorism while interacting with the heads of delegations attending a special meeting of the UN Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC).

Zero tolerance for all acts of terror should guide the world community in shaping the global counter-terrorism architecture, President Droupadi Murmu said on Saturday.

President Droupadi Murmu during a meeting with Heads of Delegations of the United Nations Security Council’s Counter Terrorism Committee, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. (PTI)

Murmu outlined India’s position on counter-terrorism while interacting with the heads of delegations attending a special meeting of the UN Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC).

She said India, the world’s largest democracy with “one of the most open and diverse societies”, has been a victim of terrorism for decades. “India has a national commitment to fight the evil of terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations,” she added.

Murmu “emphasised that zero tolerance to all acts of terror, irrespective of its motivations, should continue to be the guiding approach of the international community in shaping the global counter-terror architecture”, according to an official statement.

Murmu appreciated the gesture of the heads of delegations to begin their visit to India by paying tribute to the victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks in the financial hub on Friday.

The foreign delegations participated in an informal session held at Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, one of the main targets during the 26/11 attacks on Friday. The special meeting of the CTC was held in New Delhi on Saturday.

Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, India’s envoy to the UN and the current chair of the CTC, informed the president about the working of the committee and its priorities.

Foreign minister Michael Moussa Adamo of Gabon, the current president of the UN Security Council, and external affairs minister S Jaishankar informed the president about the deliberations at the CTC’s special meeting and the way ahead, as outlined in the Delhi Declaration adopted on Saturday.

Among those who also attended the meeting the president were Ghanaian foreign minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, UAE minister of state Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy and Albania’s deputy foreign minister Megi Fino. Senior UN officials, including Vladimir Voronkov, under secretary general at the UN Office for Counter-Terrorism, were also present.