UNITED NATIONS: India has criticised a report of the UN Secretary-General on terrorism for ignoring the Lashkar-e-Taiba (Let) and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant groups despite drawing attention to them. While silent on the terrorist groups like the JeM and the LeT that pose threats to India, the report mentions the anti-Beijing Uyghur separatist groups, the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) in its sparse coverage of South Asia.
India’s permanent representative T S Tirumurti told the Security Council that “We have been reiterating the close links between proscribed terrorist entities under the 1267 Sanctions regime such as LeT and other terror groups including the JeM. However, in spite of repeatedly flagging these concerns, the Secretary-General’s report has failed to take notice of these linkages.” Stressing the reason to pay attention to them, he said: “It is essential that we don’t lose sight of the ease with which the proscribed Haqqani Network, with support from their patron state, have worked along with prominent terrorist organisations like Al Qaeda, IS-K, etc. in South Asia.
The UN has designated the two groups as terrorist organisations, like it has with LeT and JeM about
which the report is silent. Tirumurti drew attention to Pakistan’s role in backing terrorist organisations without directly naming Islamabad. In a reference to a statement by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan about the founder of Al Qaeda, he said: “We should not forget the fact that, even after 20 years of September 11 attacks, we have leaders who, without any remorse, continue to defend Osama Bin Laden as a martyr.”