India needs to keep convincing people that terrorism is a danger to all
of mankind.
India's choice to host the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the United Nations Security Council (CTC) is a significant
indicator of the government's continuous efforts to raise awareness of terrorism issues at a time when the international
organisation has been more preoccupied with the conflict in Ukraine. It was held in Mumbai and Delhi and brought
together UN officials, ministers, and diplomats from every Security Council (UNSC) member to talk about problems with
the global counterterrorism system. Mumbai's 26/11 attacks were in the news a lot. Despite the fact that the terrorists'
targets were spread throughout the globe, India has faced challenges since 2008 in obtaining international collaboration
to investigate the case and in putting the lone surviving attacker, Ajmal Kasab, to trial and death. Following a limited
time of information exchange, Pakistan has been slow to bring charges against LeT commanders Hafiz Saeed, Zaki-ur-
Rahman Lakhvi, and others who were believed to be responsible for the attacks by the Federal Investigative Agency.
In addition to hearing from the victims of the attacks, those in attendance at the UNSC conference heard voice
samples of LeT recruiter Sajid Mir directing terrorists during the attacks. Despite this, Mir, who is currently being held
in a Pakistani prison on charges of financing terrorism after Pakistan was placed on the Financial Action Task
Force's “grey list,” has not been extradited. David Headley and Tahawwur Rana were found guilty of planning the
attacks by the U.S., which has worked with India on terrorism in many other ways but has refused to extradite them.
At the conference, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar specifically
brought up the issue of China's continued obstruction of listing LeT leaders on the UNSC 1267 terror list.
The CTC's focus in Delhi was on online radicalization and recruiting for terrorism, financing for terrorism through
virtual currencies and other unregulated financial instruments, and the use of drones for terrorism, drug trafficking,
and other illegal activities. The “Delhi Declaration on fighting the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist
purposes” was the result of the discussions. India's current elected term at the UNSC ends in just two months, but
the government seems to be working to maintain the momentum from the CTC meet by hosting an international
conference on “No Money For Terror” (November 18–19) and a UNSC special briefing on obstacles to international
counterterrorism efforts (December 15-16). As the Indian experience with 26/11 has demonstrated, the
international community has frequently been long on declarations but short on cooperative action, and New Delhi
will need to keep hammering home the point that terrorism continues to be among the “gravest threats to humanity,”
in Mr. Jaishankar's words.