Jaipur: Home Minister Rajnath Singh today held Pakistan responsible for most of the terror attacks striking India but said it would stand by the neighbour if it takes action against terrorists operating from there.
Speaking at the second edition of the counter-terrorism conference organised by the India Foundation in collaboration with the Rajasthan government, Rajnath said that concrete action from Pakistan against terrorists on its territory will not only improve bilateral relations but also bring peace and stability in the South Asian region.
"Most of the terror attacks in India emanate from Pakistan and it will have to show some sincerity and take concrete steps to rein in the various terror groups operating against India from its soil.
"The government of India will stand by Pakistan if it takes decisive action against terrorists and their organisations," he said in his address.
The Home Minister further pointed out that the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai and the attack on the Pathankot air base this year have signified a "tectonic shift" for India. The Mumbai terror attack in 2008 brought terror across the seas to country's economic capital, causing a large number of casualties among the innocent civilian population.
"Likewise, in the recent attack on Pathankot air base, there was a conscious effort to target sensitive assets of the country and also cause large-scale casualties, thus taking the dynamics of terror attack in India a notch higher," he said.
Singh said the challenge of terrorism gets compounded when certain states use it as an instrument of their foreign policy.
"They make perverse distinction between good and bad terrorists. When the states begin covertly raising and indoctrinating bands of youth and equipping them with lethal weapons and weapon systems of mass destruction to promote their geo-political agenda, the magnitude of threat amplifies many times. It makes the task of defeating terrorism much more difficult," he said.
The Home Minister said so long as some countries continue using terrorists as instruments to promote their geo-political agenda, the fight against terrorism will lack due resolve. "The world must accept the reality without any loss of time that there is no good terrorist," he said.
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar while addressing the conference said India was in touch with Pakistan after the Pathankot attack and dialogue between the two countries on the terror assault would continue.
"Since Pathankot attack happened, we have been in touch with Pakistan. We have been in touch at my level and the NSA level because only by remaining in touch, we can expect them to progress on the basis of information which we have provided to them," Jaishankar told the Counter Terrorism Conference.
(With PTI inputs)
