Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday called upon the international community to recognise and support India’s position on terrorism emanating from Pakistan, asserting that “victim and perpetrator cannot be equated and should not be hyphenated”.
“Pakistan is the perpetrator of terror. India is a victim of terror. They cannot be equated. They should not be hyphenated,” Kharge said in a post on X.
Criticising international financial institutions, Kharge said, “IMF, ADB, and World Bank sanctioning or deciding to sanction loans and bailout packages shall only increase Pakistan’s military expenditure, which its rogue Army uses to unleash terror on Indians”.
Kharge also expressed serious concern over the recent decision to name Pakistan as the vice-chair of the 15-member United Nations Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee and to chair the Taliban Sanctions Committee in 2025, calling the move as “most unfortunate, ill-informed, and unacceptable”.
Calling for Pakistan’s re-inclusion in the FATF grey list, Kharge said, “The international community must see merit in India’s case that Pakistan should be included back in the FATF grey list for monitoring of its terror financing”.
“It was first included after India’s diplomatic efforts, under PM Dr Manmohan Singh in 2008 and then again in 2012. It has been in the Grey List three times, the last being in 2018,” Kharge said.
Kharge further added, “Making Pakistan accountable for its sins is a necessity not just for India, but for the interests of the international community. It is perhaps worth to remind that the most wanted terrorist – Osama Bin Laden responsible for 9/11 was found and eliminated in Pakistan. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), the chief of planner of 9/11 was also a Pakistani”.
Kharge further stressed that as a responsible Opposition party, the Congress urges the government to take “appropriate and resolute diplomatic actions to de-hyphenate India and Pakistan on the global stage”.
