New Delhi: Noting that terrorism remains one of the key threats to global peace and security, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval asked his BRICS counterparts to free the UN Security Council sanctions regime from “politicisation and double standards”.
Though he did not mention Beijing by name, Doval’s remarks Tuesday at the 13th BRICS NSA meeting in Johannesburg came in the backdrop of China blocking India’s efforts over the years to list Pakistani/Pakistan-based terrorists under the UNSC Consolidated List.
As recently as June this year, China blocked a proposal by India and the US to designate Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative Sajid Mir, accused of involvement in the 26/11 attack, as a global terrorist.
In October 2022, China blocked another joint proposal by New Delhi and Washington to list Talha Saeed, son of LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, and Shahid Mahmood, deputy chief of a front of the terror outfit, on the UNSC Consolidated List. Both are wanted by India for procuring funds and recruiting operatives for LeT and its front Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD).
Sources in the security establishment told ThePrint that Doval in his address underlined that terrorism remains one of the key threats to global peace and security.
Terror organisations in the Af-Pak region continue to operate with impunity, the NSA said, adding that listing terrorists and their proxies under the UN counter-terrorism sanctions regime is an area in which BRICS countries can work together.
“It is important that the decision-making of the UNSC sanctions committee is free from politicisation and double standards,” sources quoted Doval as saying.
He made the above remarks in the presence of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Listing terrorists and terror outfits under the UNSC Consolidated List can only be done with the approval of the five permanent members (United States, United Kingdom, China, Russia, France) since they have the power to veto any “substantive resolution” without disclosing their reasoning for doing so.
At the BRICS NSA meeting held in the run-up to the BRICS Summit on August 22-23, Doval and his counterparts discussed issues ranging from food security to the weaponisation of water and the importance of research and development.
Non-traditional challenges of food, water, and energy security are witnessing stress, Doval said, adding that the inclusion of these topics by South Africa in the agenda for the BRICS NSA meeting reflects a clear understanding of the broader dimensions of security.
Doval mentioned that the meeting of BRICS NSAs is being held at a time of great churn in the international security environment. He also said that the global security situation is marked by uncertainty and rising tensions, adding that the global economy is still recovering from the aftereffects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The NSA further pointed out that water security is a major global issue and its prudent usage and conservation is a shared responsibility.
Referring to instances of water weaponisation and the need for complete transparency and unhindered information sharing with respect to shared cross-border water resources, he emphasised the need to counter the politicisation of water.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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