State-backed terrorism must be called out publicly, says Jaishankar at UN

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said it is imperative to call out terrorism publicly when it is supported by a state against a neighbour and is fuelled by the bigotry of extremism, a strong reference to Pakistan.

Jaishankar, who is on a three-day visit to the US, made the remarks while inaugurating an exhibition titled The Human Cost of Terrorism' at the UN headquarters.

The exhibition, which will be on display at two locations in the UN headquarters from June 30-July 3 and July 7-July 11, opened a day before Pakistan begins its Presidency of the UN Security Council for July on Tuesday.

"When terrorism is supported by a state against the neighbour, when it is fuelled by the bigotry of extremism, when it drives a whole host of illegal activities, it is imperative to call it out publicly and one way of doing so is to display the havoc that it has wreaked on global society, Jaishankar said.

A large number of UN ambassadors, senior UN personnel, officials and envoys attended the opening of the exhibition organised by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN.

The exhibition is seen as an effort to draw global support for India's campaign against cross-border terrorism from Pakistan.

The digital exhibition displays the horrific terror attacks perpetrated across the world, including the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts, the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and the Pahalgam terror attack, and names the terror outfits responsible for carrying out the attacks, including several Pakistan-based individuals and entities such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group.

In his remarks, Jaishankar said it is with a sense of solemnity that we have gathered here for the exhibition that highlights the human cost of terrorism.

This exhibition is a modest yet resolute effort to give voice to those who can no longer speak, a tribute to those who were taken away from us and a remembrance of the lives shattered by the scourge of terrorism, he said, adding that the images and visuals in the exhibition, each moment, each memory, each artefact and every word tells the story of a life interrupted and altered.

He stressed that the pain of the families of the victims of terrorism is a stark reminder of the urgency of our shared responsibility to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

He added that here at the UN, we must not just remember but commit ourselves to act, protect and uphold the very values and human rights that terrorism seeks to destroy.

"Terrorism is one of the gravest threats to humanity. It is the antithesis of everything that the UN stands for - human rights, rules and norms and how nations should conduct their dealings with each other, he said.

Referring to the Pahalgam terror attack, Jaishankar said five weeks ago, the United Nations Security Council issued a strong condemnation of a particularly horrific act of terrorism and demanded that its perpetrators be held accountable and brought to justice.

We have since seen that happen. What that response underlines is a larger significance of the message of zero tolerance for terrorism. The world must come together on some basic concepts - no impunity to terrorists, and no yielding to nuclear blackmail, he said.

Any state sponsorship must be exposed, he said, adding that by now we know well that terrorism anywhere is a threat to peace everywhere. Let that understanding guide our collective thinking and response.