Team News Riveting
The five-nation influential grouping BRICS said on Thursday that the Afghan territory should not be used to carry out attacks against other countries while expressing concern over the latest developments in Afghanistan.
“Afghan territory should not be used to carry out attacks against other countries as well as for drug trade. We emphasise the need to address the humanitarian situation and to uphold human rights, including those of minorities,” a BRICS declaration said.
The leaders also discussed important regional and global issues, including recent developments in Afghanistan. There was convergence of views on the threat posed by growth of terrorism and extremism, and all BRICS partners agreed to accelerate implementation of the BRICS Action Plan on Counter-Terrorism.
At the conclusion of the Summit, the leaders adopted the “New Delhi Declaration”. The declaration comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the 13th BRICS virtual summit along with Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Without naming any country, the five-nations group also said they reject the double standards in countering terrorism and extremism conducive to terrorism.
“We commit to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists. We reiterate that terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group,” the group in its declaration said.
Earlier, Putin, while speaking at the BRICS summit, was the only leader to have raised the issue of Afghanistan directly. He said that the withdrawal of US forces and its allies from Afghanistan has led to a “new crisis” and called for BRICS countries to pay special attention to the situation in Afghanistan.
