G20 summit: Modi takes indirect jibe at Pak, says one nation in South Asia spreading terror

NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi continued his attack on the sponsors of terrorism on the second and last day of the G-20 Summit in Hangzhou, saying without naming Pakistan that terrorism is being spread by a single South Asian country in the region.

“Growing forces of violence and terror pose a fundamental challenge. There are some nations that use it as an instrument of state policy,” Modi said in the final session of the G-20 Summit.

“Indeed, one single nation in South Asia is spreading these agents of terror in the countries of our region,” he said. India has a policy of zero tolerance to terrorism, the PM said. “Because anything less than that is not enough. For us, a terrorist is a terrorist,” he said.

The PM urged the global community to speak and act together and urgently to fight terrorism. “Those who sponsor and support terrorism must be isolated and sanctioned, not rewarded,” he said.

This was the second time in as many days that the PM characterised Pakistan as a sponsor of terrorism in the region, without actually naming it. He had raised the issue both at the BRICS leaders meet and with the Chinese President on Sunday.