India, terrorism and the G20

Forums such as the G20 will not affirm the Indian position on countering global terror

India has been given much credit in its national media for the Hamburg G20 Leaders’ Statement on Countering Terrorism (HSCT) on July 7 and for singling out Pakistan — without naming it — as the one South Asian nation using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. 

Pakistani-based terrorist groups pose a regional and global security threat. But the 2017 HSCT does not mention any Pakistan-friendly extremists. Whether New Delhi wanted the HSCT to name terrorists trained by Pakistan is unknown. Had it tried, China, Pakistan’s all-weather friend,  would have probably have used its clout to stop India from condemning Pakistani-nurtured terrorists in the HSCT just as  successfully as it did in the UN Security Council last year. 

China’s unflinching support for Pakistan — despite President Xi Jinping’s appreciation of India’s resolve against terrorism at Hamburg — is one reason why differing international reactions to India’s stance on terrorism at the G20 should be understood. 

What shapes the complex international perspective? Since the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on 9/11, the threat of global terrorism has been discussed in economic forums like the G20, which was originally intended to promote international financial stability. The curbing of terrorist financing has long been on the G20’s agenda. But the G20’s anti-terrorist plans have yielded few results. So it is unsurprising that the HSCT, issued as a separate statement at India’s urging, finds no mention in the G20 Leaders Declaration on “Shaping an interconnected world” — though the preamble lists terrorism as one of many global challenges. The list of agreed documents at the end of that declaration includes other action plans, such as climate and energy, the Africa Partnership, women entrepreneurs and rural youth employment.  

The HSCT also echoes much that was included in the 2015 G20 Summit Declaration, issued in Antalya in Turkey soon after a massive terrorist attack on Paris. When it comes to exchanging information, freezing terrorist assets and criminalising terrorist financing, the HSCT reflects a certain deja vu. 

Many countries want to counter terrorism, but they may be out of step with India. For instance, the global concerns of Russia, the US and China are clearly not the same as India’s bilateral problems with Pakistan. In Hamburg, Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping discussed the nuclear threat from North Korea, trade issues and joint US-led military exercises in Asia’s Pacific Rim in 2018. Meeting for the first time at the G20 Summit, Mr Trump and President Vladimir Putin reportedly discussed Syria, Ukraine and Russia’s alleged meddling in last November’s American presidential elections. 

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in conversation with US President Donald Trump during a working session of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, Saturday. (Photo: PTI)

Mr Putin focussed on the development of the world economy. At a meeting of the BRICS countries on the sidelines of the G20 summit, he did call for a “united anti-terrorist front”, with the UN playing a central role. 

But for Moscow, the global anti-terrorist front would be about defeating the Islamic State (ISIS), which threatens Russia, its Central Asian neighbours and its client President Assad in Syria. Since India is not of much help against ISIS, it cannot expect any favours from Russia against Pakistan. 

Moscow also wants to improve ties with Islamabad because — like Washington — it believes that Pakistan controls the Afghan Taliban. At last October’s BRICS meeting in Goa it joined China in preventing India from naming and shaming Pakistan-based terrorist gangs. 

Russia seeks Pakistan’s help in persuading and using the Taliban to counter ISIS. The fanatical Taliban are fighting Nato, the weak Afghan state, and also ISIS. Moscow hopes that the Taliban will eventually push ISIS out of Afghanistan, and thus enhance Russia’s security.    

The US remains Pakistan’s main aid and military donor. Significantly, Pakistan was not on the list of seven Muslim-majority countries whose citizens were banned by Mr Trump to keep America safe from terrorist attacks, although Pakistani-trained terrorists have killed many American soldiers in Afghanistan, and Osama bin Laden — the Al-Qaeda leader who masterminded the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington — was found and killed by US forces in Pakistan. 

As for China and Russia, Pakistan enjoys a strong position on China’s economically and strategically important Belt and Road. Russia is increasing trade ties with Pakistan. Recently, Gazprom signed a deal with Pakistan that could attract $3-4 billion to Pakistan. Russia has expressed interest in investing $8 billion, a major part of which will go to Pakistan’s cash-strapped energy sector. Russia is also holding talks with Pakistan to invest $2 billion to build the North-South pipeline that would transport liquefied natural gas from Karachi to Lahore. In short, Russia-India druzhba (friendship) coexists with Russia-China-Pakistan friendship. 

Paragraph 18 of the HSCT is of significance and relevance to India. This paragraph stresses  that “It is...crucial to promote political and religious tolerance, economic development” to curb terrorism. How does this square with communal killings of innocent people by Hindu extremists over the last three years? Three such incidents occurred shortly before Narendra Modi left for Hamburg to persuade the G20 to issue the HSCT as a separate document. 

Terrorism is the illegal use of violence, especially against civilians, in order to achieve political aims. Again, how does the HSTC’s emphasis on advancing tolerance square with the Modi government’s inability or reluctance to strengthen religious tolerance, prevent and counter communal terrorism? All the more so since India pushed the HSTC?

The India-promoted HSCT at the G-20 summit will not suffice to increase India’s influence on the international stage. India’s progress is inextricably intertwined with tolerance and domestic harmony: One cannot exist without the other. Progress, tolerance and stability are the sound priorities of the G20. Those alone will give India a greater say at future G20 summits, whether on issues like defeating global terrorism, promoting free trade or creating a fairer world. 

The writer is Visiting Professor at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution in New Delhi