Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday used phrases like “Dynamite to Metaverse” and “AK-47 to Virtual Assets” to narrate lethal transformation terrorism is undergoing, and exhorted the global security community to understand growing use of darknet and cryptocurrency to stifle terror and its financing.

‘Means and Methods’

“Terrorism is, undoubtedly, the most serious threat to global peace and security. But, I believe that the financing of terrorism is more dangerous than terrorism itself because the ‘means and methods’ of terrorism are nurtured from such funding. Furthermore, financing of terrorism weakens the economy of countries ,” Shah said. His remarks came while he was chairing first session on “Global Trends in Terrorist Financing and Terrorism” at the third ‘No Money for Terror Ministerial Conference on Counter-Terrorism Financing’, hosted by the Ministry of Home Affairs here.

The Union minister stated after August 2021, the situation in South Asian region has changed, perhaps hinting to Taliban take over of Afghanistan. This phase in South Asia, he believed was akin to scenario three decades ago that led to horrific twin tower 9/11 attack in the United States of America. “Three decades ago, the whole world had to bear the serious consequences of one such regime change, the result of which we all have seen in the horrific attack of 9/11. In this background, last year changes in the South Asian region are a matter of concern for all of us,” Shah said.

He pitched Pakistan-based proscribed terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in the same league as Al Qaeda, which he said, continue to spread terror in South Asia. But, the Minister also made it clear that “the threat of terrorism cannot and should not be linked to any religion, nationality, or group.” He informed the global delegates that India has made significant gains over fight against terror.

Expose double-speak

Like Prime Minister Narendra Modi who in his inaugural address at the Conference obliquely singled out China and Pakistan for not being on the right side of battling terror, Shah told the delegates that “we also have to expose the double-speak of such elements who sponsor and support them”.

“Therefore, it is important that at this conference, the participating countries, and the organisations, should not take a selective, or complacent perspective of the challenges of this region,” he commented.

Illegal trade

The emerging trends of the illegal trade of narcotics, and challenge of narco-terror, have given a new dimension to terror financing, he stated to invite prompt collective against it.

On the sidelines of the conference, the Minister held a bilateral engagement with his Bangladeshi counterpart Asaduzzaman Khan. “Both sides had productive exchanges on border management and common security issues,” Shah’s office tweeted about the meeting which was also attended among others by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Border Security Force DG Pankaj Kumar Singh.

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