Some spreading viruses like terrorism: PM's veiled attack on Pak

In an obvious reference to Pakistan at the NAM summit, PM Modi said that even during the COVID-19 pandemic, some people were busy spreading "other deadly viruses" like terrorism, fake news, and doctored videos to create a divide.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi subtly shamed Pakistan for perpetrating cross-border terrorism in India and running propaganda to create a wedge between India and its allies at the web-summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) nations.

Though the Prime Minister did not mention Pakistan by name, he said that even as the world was fighting COVID-19, "some people are busy spreading other deadly viruses such as terrorism, fake news and doctored videos to divide communities and countries."

The summit was held on Monday, at the initiative of President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, the current chair of the NAM, to enhance coordination of the member states in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Pakistan, represented by President Arif Alvi, participated in the summit as well.

After the UN, the NAM is the biggest group of countries with 120 members. This was the first time that Prime Minister Modi attended the NAM summit after assuming office in his first term in 2014. He had skipped the 2016 summit, becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to do so.

Modi on Monday at the NAM summit said that the coronavirus pandemic had demonstrated the limitations of the existing international system. "In the post-Covid world," Prime Minister said, "we need a new template of globalisation based on fairness, equality and humanity. We need international institutions that are more representative of today's world."

Read:World will need a new template of globalisation post COVID-19: PM Modi

India has been persistently and emphatically asking for structural reforms in global institutions since the pandemic hit the world.Though the NAM has been considered irrelevant and ineffective, Prime Minister Modi on Monday said, "Today, humanity faces its most serious crisis in many decades. At this time, NAM can help promote global solidarity."

The movement, he said, has often been the world''s moral voice. "To retain this role, NAM must remain inclusive," he said.

Briefing the NAM summit about India''s efforts in combating the pandemic, Modi said, "Despite our own needs, we have ensured medical supplies to our 123 partner countries including 59 members of Non-Aligned Movement. We are active in global efforts to develop remedies and vaccines."

During this crisis, the Prime Minister said, "we have shown how democracy, discipline and decisiveness can create a genuine people's movement."

(IANS Report)