Security and strategic affairs expert Commodore (retired) C Uday Bhaskar on Thursday said Pakistan is the 'cradle' of and is committed to terrorism, adding that if Islamabad were to sever its ties with extremist elements, then the security dynamics of South Asia would change.
Commodore Bhaskar was attending the International Counter Terrorism Conference in Jaipur.
"Pakistan being the focus of attention is not surprising. All the experts agree that Pakistan is both the cradle of terrorism, as well as being committed to terrorism. That was the point made by Home Minister Rajnath Singh - if Pakistan and the ISI stop supporting terror, then the whole security issue of South Asia will change. I think this was a very strong political message which was sent, especially since it comes after Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar has just finished his SAARC yatra," Commodore Bhaskar told ANI.
"Now, from India's perspective, what Rajnath Singh said at the conference, that you cannot have this selective approach to terrorism is similar to what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been saying for the last one year," he added.
The security expert further said that the conference was taking place at a significant time, coming a day after gunmen attack a museum in Tunisia, leaving 17 tourists dead.
"The Jaipur Conference is a very important event. Even as we speak, the world is coming to terms with the incident in Tunisia, where the killing has taken place in a museum. We have had incidents in Kandahar, and prior to that, whether events take place in France or Canada, the challenge of terrorism is there for the world to deal with for a fairly long time," he said.
"If you look at the participants at the Jaipur Conference, and the kind of expertise they bring to the table, it would be a valuable forum to exchange ideas and to see what kind of a collective response is possible at the level of the professionals," he added.
Speaking of some of the speakers at the conference, Commodore Bhaskar said that the symposium would be invaluable as a forum for experts.
"The Jaipur Conference is not going to be the answer to all the problems terrorism poses, but I think it provides a valuable forum for the experts. For example, the way Sri Lankan expert General Fonseka gave an insight into how his government dealt with the LTTE," he said.
"We also heard Dr Amrullah Saleh, who was the head of the intelligence agency in Afghanistan, who spoke on the nature of the problem there, and I think he made an important point: that as long as Pakistan continues to provide sanctuary, it will be very difficult for the region to deal with the scourge of terrorism," he added.
Earlier in the day, Rajnath Singh, speaking at the conference, said that India has been a victim of cross border terrorism for several decades. He claimed Pakistan's attempt to differentiate between good and bad terrorists has also failed miserably.
