In what could be seen as yet another blow to Pakistan, German Ambassador to India Martin Ney on Wednesday said that Germany will stand with India in its fight against terrorism by stating that "any state has the right to defend its territory from internal terrorism."
"There is a clear international norm that every state has the right to defend its territory from international terrorism," said Ney while responding to a query on the recent surgical strikes by the Indian Army across Line of Control (LoC).
"Let me put it this way.it is absolutely clear that there are two norms in international law governing this issue (cross-border terrorism). The first clear norm is that every state under legal occupation should ensure that no terrorism is emanating from its territory," he said.
"Secondly, there is a clear international law that any state has the right to defend its territory from internal terrorism," he added.
The German ambassador said that when it comes to counter terrorism, Germany stands side by side with it its strategic partner (India).
"And these (statements) are not empty words. It is quite clear in the political declaration signed by Prime Minister Modi and Chancellor Merkel," he said.
"I can assure you standing with India side by side against terrorism are not empty political words but backed up with concrete projects that are ongoing," he added.
Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a lot of steps to defuse tensions between India and Pakistan.
"We are also a country affected by terrorism. We have discussed that how does SAARC evolve from here. Let us look at ensuring there is no cross-border terrorism in India or any other country in the region. SAARC nations must discuss cross border terror. There is no future of SAARC if there is no cooperation," he said.
Amidst growing tensions between the estranged neighbours after the Uri terror attack, Pakistan has been isolated internationally with major countries like US and Russia slamming the nation for harbouring terrorists.
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