New Delhi: India has proposed to setup a permanent secretariat to curb terror funding. The Union Home Ministry will shorty issue a discussion paper to all participating jurisdictions (countries and multilateral bodies) of the 3rd ministerial conference of No Money For Terror (NMFT) held here in the national capital.
The proposal to setup such a permanent secretariat was put forward during the two-day-long 3rd NMFT conference ended on Saturday. "There is an urgent need to setup such a secretariat which can constantly monitor, guide and give advice boosting the initiative to fight against terror funding," a senior government official privy to the development told ETV Bharat.
"During the conference India's role to counter terror and terrorist funding was highlighted. In fact, all the counties appreciated out efforts," said the official. At present India's anti terror organization, NIA, investigates cases of terror funding. The Central agency has also unearthed how the terrorist organizations transfer money through hawala routes for funding terror activities in India.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah while delivering his concluding remarks at the 3rd NMFT conference said that India has sensed the need for permanency of this unique initiative of NMFT, in order to sustain the continued global focus on countering the financing of terrorism. "Time is ripe for a permanent Secretariat to be established," said Shah.
Shah said that the country is leading the fight against terror funding, and in order to take this fight forward, "we will circulate a discussion paper to all the participating jurisdictions for their valuable comments."
During the two-day-long conference, the delegates discussed emerging trends in terror financing, misuse of new emerging financial technologies, and international cooperation in the field of terror financing to effectively achieve the objective of 'No Money For Terror'.
Shah said that terrorism today has taken such a formidable form, that its effects are visible at every level. "No country or organization can successfully combat terrorism, alone. The international community must continue to fight shoulder to shoulder against this increasingly complex and borderless threat," Shah said.
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He informed that Government of India will develop national and global database on crimes such as terrorism, narcotics and economic offenses. "Over the past two decades, the United Nations Security Council has developed a framework to deal with this threat. The system established by the United Nations has successfully curbed to some extent, the actions of countries that make terrorism a State funded enterprise. But is has to be strengthened further, made more rigorous and transparent," said Shah.
Targeting Pakistan, the Home Minister reiterated, "we observe that some countries repeatedly support terrorists and those who harbor terrorism. I believe that terrorism has no international boundaries, so all counties should think beyond politics and cooperate with each other." He also said that under the guise of other motives, some organisation promote terrorism and radicalization at the national and international levels.
"It has also been found that these organizations tend to become the medium of financing terrorism. Recently, Government of India has banned an organization that conspired to radicalise the youth and push them towards terrorism. I believe this every country should identity and take stringent action against such organization," Shah said.
Referring to IMF and World Bank Shah said that criminals around the world launder around 2 to 4 trillion dollars every year. "And a major part of it goes to fuel terrorism," he added.
On the concluding day of the NMFT conference, Dinker Gupta, director general of National Investigation Agency (NIA) has said that all the countries have vouched to check the routes of terror financing. "The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has asked to uproot the nexus between terrorist and trans-national organised crime specially drug trafficking," said Gupta. He also said that talks are going on for holding NMFT conference annually.
