Country allowing terror perpetrators roam freely is a threat: India

Against the backdrop of 26/11 mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi's release by Pakistan, India on Monday said any country that allows the perpetrators of dastardly terror attacks to roam freely poses a serious threat to all nations.

Doha: Against the backdrop of 26/11 mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi's release by Pakistan, India on Monday said any country that allows the perpetrators of dastardly terror attacks to roam freely poses a serious threat to all nations.

India also pitched for finalisation of a convention on international terrorism, urging countries to accelerate efforts in this regard.

Addressing the 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice here, Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said the international community must have a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism and towards all those who aid and abet terrorist acts and provide safe havens to the perpetrators of such attacks.

"Any country that allows the perpetrators of dastardly terrorist attacks to roam freely and continue their diabolical acts against innocent people, poses a serious threat to all nations," he said.

Gowda said India continues to continuously strengthen domestic mechanisms and cooperation with other countries in the critical area of counter terrorism.

"India had presented a draft Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the United Nations as far back as in 1996 and has been constructively engaged with the international community for its finalisation. I call upon all countries to accelerate efforts for an expeditious conclusion of this crucial convention," the minister said.

Lakhvi, a close relative of LeT founder and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, was arrested in December 2008 and was indicted along with the six others on November 25, 2009, in connection with the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack which claimed 166 lives.

Gowda said greater cooperation is required to tackle heinous crimes like human trafficking, drug and arms trafficking and money laundering.

He said the perpetrators of such crimes, in most of the cases, reside in countries other than those where the crimes are committed.

"Operational and cutting edge level partnerships are crucial for the success of such conventions and protocols," Gowda said.

The minister pointed out that increasing threats in cyber space possibly have the potential of being even more lethal than conventional wars.

"There is thus an imperative and urgent need for greater cooperation among the international community to deal with the perpetrators of cyber crimes...Time has come to prosecute perpetrators of any form of cyber crime in a timely and effective manner with a view to make the cyber space secure and benefit the people in terms of improved service delivery, crime prevention and detection and ease of doing business," he said.

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