PM Modi: Its important to get to the root of terror financing taking a dig at “certain countries”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday, 18 November 2022, that certain countries reinforce terrorism as part of their foreign policy and that “government support” has become one of the sources of funding for terrorist groups. I said yes. Indirectly referring to Pakistan and China, Mr. Modi said that while certain countries provide political, ideological, and financial support to terrorist groups, the indirect argument in favor of terrorism is anti-terrorist activity. 

Pakistan did not attend the meeting, and China did not send a delegation. He said international organisations should not assume that the absence of war means peace. 

The Prime Minister also called for addressing the issues of radicalization and extremism together, adding that those who support radicalization should have no place in any country. 

“Proxy wars are Hazardous & Devastating” 

“Proxy wars are also dangerous and violent. Countries that support terrorism must bear a cost. There are no ifs and buts in such problems. Modi said the world must stand together against all forms of overt and covert sponsorship of terrorism. 

Mr. Modi spoke at the opening session of the 3rd No Money for Terrorism Conferenceattended by approximately 450 delegates from 72 countries and other multilateral bodies such as INTERPOL and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

“Terrorists can be neutralized with weapons. An immediate tactical response to terrorists can be an operational problem. But without broader strategies to hurt their finances, Tactical gains will soon be lost again. Terrorists are individuals, but terrorism is about networks of individuals and organizations. Eliminating terrorism requires a broader and more proactive response. If you want your citizens to be safe, you can’t wait for terrorism to come to your home. We must track terrorists, dismantle their support networks, and hit their finances.

He said one of his sources of funding for terrorists is organized crime, and gangs are terrorist groups. He said they often have a close relationship. Money from arms smuggling, drugs, and smuggling is funneled into terrorism. “These groups also help with logistics and communications. Fighting organized crime is major in the fight against terrorism,” he said. 

He said that massively growing technology is both a challenge and a solution. “New technologies are being used to finance and recruit terrorism. Challenges emerge from the dark web, private currencies, and more.

A unified understanding of new financial technologies is required. It is also essential to involve the private sector in these efforts. The answer is not demonising technology. Instead, technology should be used to track, track and counter-terrorism,” he said. 

He said many countries have their legal principles, procedures, and processes and that sovereign states are entitled to their systems. “But we also need to be careful that extremists do not exploit differences between systems. It helps,” he said.