'Our neighbour aiding, abetting terror groups': VP Naidu

In a veiled reference to Pakistan, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said "our neighbour" has been "aiding, abetting, funding and training terror groups for long" and attempts to "destabilise" India through terror acts like the one in Pulwama, would no longer be tolerated.

His comments came a day after 40 CRPF personnel were killed and five injured in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district when a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus.

Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad has claimed responsibility for the attack that took place about 20 km from Srinagar.

Naidu also asserted that the UN must conclude the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), act firmly to effectively uproot terror through a multi-pronged strategy, and recognise that "peace is a prerequisite for prosperity".

Terror "reared its ugly" head again on Thursday and Indians must stand together with a resolve to make every inch of "our motherland a safer place", he said.

Naidu was addressing a gathering at Vigyan Bhawan, where a compilation of his speeches from the last one-and-a-half years was released.

"Our neighbour has been aiding, abetting, funding, training terror groups for long," the vice president said.

Such an attempt to "destabilise and impede the country's progress would no longer be tolerated", Naidu said.

"There is an urgent need for all countries in the world to come to a firm resolve to combat these sources of terror and enemies of humanity. Terror has no religion, it is an enemy of humanity. The UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved if there is no peace," he added.

Countries across the globe have condemned the terror attack in Pulwama, with the US, Russia and France asserting that they stand with India in combating the menace of terrorism.