'Terrorism is today an industry of evil': Prez

Terming terrorism as an industry of evil, President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said this menace is not just a threat to peace and security but an attack on humanity as a whole.

"We have in recent days witnessed the horrific killings of innocent hostages in Syria, the attack on the media in Paris and the tragic killing of school children and their teachers in Peshawar. Terrorism is today an industry of evil. It is not just a threat to peace and security but an attack on humanity as a whole and civilization as we understand," he said while addressing the sixth Annual Heads of Mission Conference here.

President Mukherjee stated that terrorism of which India is a victim should be faced firmly through international cooperation.

"India is one of the oldest victims of terrorism. There is no good terrorism or bad terrorism. Terrorism respects no religion, ideology or nation. It is no longer a debating issue. The international community must assert itself and tackle the problem by taking concerted, coordinated and determined action," he said.

"This great menace and challenge to human values should be faced firmly and squarely through international cooperation," he added.

President Mukherjee further called upon the India's Ambassadors and High Commissioners to apply themselves to how this challenge can be addressed and to come up with ideas on how to mobilize the world to take concrete action that will mitigate and end this menace.

The theme of the three-day conference this year is 'diplomacy for development'.