Told Pakistan not to glorify terror: Rajnath

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said he told Pakistan not to glorify terrorism and urged all Saarc nations to respect United Nations ban on terror oufits.

"I told them that strongest action must be taken not just against the terrorists but also those who support terrorism," Rajnath Singh told the Rajya Sabha, a day after he returned from a two-day Pakistan visit to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) interior ministers meeting.

The home minister said he suggested to the Saarc member countries that the "ban on terror outfits by the UN must be respected".

"There is no good or bad terrorism. I urged all members that terrorists should not be glorified or patronised."

He said as South Asia "suffers from terrorism, India's message is for peace and humanity and that terrorism is the biggest enemy of humanity".

Pakistan hosted the Saarc meeting amid a bloody unrest in the Kashmir Valley that has left more than 50 people dead in clashes between security forces and Kashmiri protesters in nearly a month of turmoil.

In Islamabad, the home minister criticised the Pakistan government for describing slain pro-Pakistan Kashmiri rebel commander Burhan Wani as a "martyr".

Wani's killing triggered the Kashmir unrest - blamed on Pakistan by India.

--IANS

av-sar/vm