New Delhi, October 1
Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani said today that the world community should realise that the epicentre of international terrorism had now shifted from Afghanistan to Pakistan and there should be global effort to check this.
“I want the world democracies to understand that the epicentre of terrorism, which was in Afghanistan before the September 11 terror strikes, has now shifted to Pakistan,” Mr Advani said at a function organised by the BJP to observe Anti-Terrorism day.
Asserting that India would wage its own war against terrorism, he said: “We do not have to wait for any other country to declare Pakistan a terrorist state.”
“We are already waging a war, the war is on and we do not have to depend on others,” the Deputy Prime Minister said. He, however, pointed out that the more the world community became aware of the menace, “more will be the pressure on Pakistan”, he said.
“Earlier the world community used to exert pressure on us and used to ask us to exercise restraint, but today they don’t do that. Rather they tell us that they understand our position,” he said.
Stating that unlike in the past, the internal security situation today was not affected by factors inside the country, but those outside, Mr Advani said the “only change” in the terrorism situation was that now Islamabad was not being able to recruit local people and “depending overwhelmingly on foreign mercenaries”.
The Deputy Prime Minister further said in an effort to reduce the reaction time of the elite “Black Cat” commandos of the NSG in emergency situation, the Centre was contemplating to base them close to Indira Gandhi International Airport here.
