BRICS Summit: Jaishankar hails landmark consensus on counter-terrorism

EAM S Jaishankar praised the BRICS Summit for its consensus on counter-terrorism. The New Delhi Declaration condemned the 2025 Pahalgam attack, with Jaishankar noting the summit's success under PM Modi's leadership amid global polarisation.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday hailed the successful conclusion of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, emphasising that the member nations achieved a landmark consensus on counter-terrorism, especially denouncing the Pahalgam terror attack.

Landmark Consensus on Counter-Terrorism

Addressing the media, Jaishankar pointed out that despite global polarisation, the BRICS grouping, through the New Delhi Declaration, adopted an unequivocal stance against cross-border terrorism and explicitly condemned the April 22, 2025 Pahalgam attack. "I also want to say on one issue, the consensus was very noteworthy. That was on terrorism. The BRICS was very clear that any act of terrorism is criminal, and it, in fact, explicitly recognised the unacceptability of the Pahalgam attack of 22 April 2025," Jaishankar said.

"They condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism, emphasised zero tolerance for terrorism, and rejected double standards in countering it," he added.

Jaishankar stressed that the summit reflected the global resonance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's approach of "dialogue, diplomacy, and development" to international relations, noting that it proved that multilateral consensus remains possible under strong leadership. "So overall, I would say this summit was very much a summit where the PM's message of dialogue, diplomacy, and development, I think it resonated around the world. The response to that message was what we saw when world leaders came for the BRICS," Jaishankar noted.

"So let me conclude by saying this. Many people said it won't happen. It did happen. It happened in New Delhi, and it happened under Prime Minister Modi's leadership," he concluded.

New Delhi Declaration's Stance on Terrorism

On April 22, 2025, terrorists attacked tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, killing 26 people and injuring several others. Indian agencies traced the attack to Pakistan-backed operatives. In response, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Jaishankar's remarks stem from the New Delhi Declaration 2026, adopted by the BRICS countries on Saturday, which strongly condemned the April 2025 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir and called for zero tolerance towards terrorism, while backing the aspirations of India and Brazil to play a greater role in the United Nations, including its Security Council.

On terrorism, the grouping condemned “in the strongest terms” the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, 2025, in which 26 people were killed and several others injured.

The declaration reaffirmed BRICS’ commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, terrorism financing and safe havens. It also called for zero tolerance for terrorism and rejected double standards in countering the menace.

The BRICS countries further called for the expeditious finalisation and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism under the UN framework and urged concerted action against all UN-designated terrorists and terrorist entities.

Concerns were flagged over illicit financial flows, money laundering, cyber fraud and cross-border scam networks used to fund extremist activities.

Significance of China's Agreement

China joining the consensus on India-centric terror language, even without naming Pakistan, is seen as significant, coming ahead of talks between PM Modi and President Xi Jinping. Unlike the recent SCO meetings where consensus on Pahalgam could not be reached, BRICS managed to adopt a joint condemnation. The stance aligns with similar condemnations earlier made by groupings like the Quad.

Support for UN Security Council Reform

The declaration, adopted at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, also said that China and Russia, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, reiterated their support for the aspirations of Brazil and India to play a greater role in the UN, including its Security Council.

The BRICS leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to reforming the UN Security Council to make it more democratic, representative, effective and efficient, with greater representation for developing countries.

India Hosts 18th BRICS Summit

India hosted the 18th BRICS Summit under its 2026 Chairmanship on September 12-13, with the New Delhi Declaration unanimously adopted by BRICS leaders. (ANI)

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