New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah deemed terrorism as the ‘biggest enemy’ of democracy, economic progress and world peace.

We have to fight this war against terrorism and terrorist groups, in every geographical space

The statement came to the fore during the counter-terrorism financing conclave wherein the member delegates discussed ‘Emerging Trends’ in terror funding and misuse of technology pertaining to this aspect.

Addressing the concluding session of the Ministerial Conference on ‘No Money for Terror’, Shah said, “on the occasion of the Amrit Mahotsav of India’s Independence, it gives me immense pleasure to address the concluding session of the 3rd Ministerial Conference on “No Money for Terror” being held in New Delhi.” .

Shah extended his gratitude to delegations from several countries and their cooperation in the field of terror financing. They worked together towards achieving the objective of ‘No Money for Terror’.

“Terrorism, today, has taken such a formidable form, that its effects are visible at every level, “Shah said.

“Terrorism is the biggest enemy of democracy, human rights, economic progress, and world peace, which we cannot allow to succeed,” he said, while noting that no country can ‘successfully combat terrorism, alone’.

“The international community must continue to fight shoulder-to-shoulder against this increasingly complex and borderless threat,” the Union Home Minister said.

“With India’s policy of Zero Tolerance against terrorism, a strong framework of counter-terror laws, and empowerment of agencies, India has seen a significant reduction in incidences of terrorism and has succeeded in ensuring strict punishment in cases of terrorism,” he said.

“Forensic science is being promoted with the aim of equipping the investigation with science and technology. In this direction, with the vision of Prime Minister Modi, the world’s first National Forensic Science University has been established,” Amit Shah said.

Shah said that the Indian government has decided to formulate national and global databases on crimes such as terrorism, narcotics and economic offences.

“In order to combat cybercrime in a comprehensive manner, the Government of India has established the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Center,” he said.

He said that the United States Council’s framework to deal with the threat of creating a ‘counter-terrorism sanctions regime’ needed to be more dynamic and sturdy.

“This system established by the United Nations has successfully curbed to some extent, the actions of countries that make terrorism a state-funded enterprise. But it has to be further strengthened, made more rigorous, and transparent,” he said.

“All countries, all organisations, must pledge complete transparency in sharing intelligence in a better and more effective manner,” he said.

We have to fight this war against terrorism and terrorist groups, in every geographical space, in every virtual space.

He underlined that there were organisations that promoted terrorism and radicalisation and they tend to translate into becoming the medium of financing terrorism.

“Recently, the Government of India has banned an organization that conspired to radicalize the youth and push them towards terrorism. I believe that every country should identify and take stringent action against such organisations,” he said.

He further said, “Some countries, their governments, and their agencies have made ‘terrorism’ their State policy. In these terror havens, it is necessary to shackle their unrestrained activities along with a strict economic crackdown. All the countries of the world will have to make up their minds on this, rising above their geo-political interests.”

“We observe that some countries repeatedly support terrorists and those who harbour terrorism. I believe that terrorism has no international boundaries, so all countries should think beyond politics and cooperate with each other,” he said.

“At the same time, all countries will have to agree on one common definition of ‘terrorism’ and ‘terror financing’. It is an issue of the protection of our citizens, and their human and democratic rights, it should not become a political issue!” Amit Shah said.

The Union Home Minister noted the evolution and spurt of technologies and how the facility could be misused in a country. He pointed out the usage and emergence of drone technology in the recent past.

“I believe that to combat the financing of terrorism, our approach must be based on five pillars,” Shah said.