Indian leader calls for global conference on countering terrorism

Visiting the Maldives, Narendra Modi says terror is the biggest threat currently facing the world

By Agencies 9 June 2019, 2:19 am

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Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends a ceremony to thank the Union Council of Ministers for their contribution in India's general election, at BJP headquarters in New Delhi, May 21, 2019. (Prakash Singh/AFP)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said terrorism was the biggest threat facing the world and there could be no distinction between so-called “good” and “bad” terrorists.

“State sponsorship of terrorism is the biggest threat today. It is time for a global conference on terrorism,” he said.

Modi was in the Maldives on his first official overseas trip since being elected to a second term.

Modi turned last month’s election into a referendum on his rule while depicting himself as the only one able to defend India.

After a Pakistan-based group killed 40 Indian paratroopers in Indian-administered Kashmir on February 14, the Indian leader ordered strikes in Pakistan.

“Wherever the terror groups and perpetrators may hide, our security forces will flush them out and punish them,” he said then. “Every drop of blood of our slain soldiers shall be avenged.”

In those strikes, India reportedly used Israeli-made smart bombs.