Xiamen: The Xiamen declaration is out and for the first time in the history of BRICS, very strong and explicit language has been used on the issue of terror.
Paragraph 48 of the declaration explicitly names Pakistan-based terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed and implores joint BRICS action against terrorism.
This is a big win for Indian diplomats and particularly for Prime Minister Narendra Modi who at every multilateral forum, from the United Nations to G20 to now BRICS, has hammered the world's double standards when it comes to terrorism.
India had tried very hard in the last BRICS summit in Goa to get an explicit mention of Pakistan-supported terror groups but because of intransigence by China, it had to eventually give up its plans.
The fact that the Xiamen Declaration explicitly mentions groups such as Lashkar and Jaish not only exposes Pakistan in yet another global forum, it also puts pressure on China to stop protecting its 'iron brother', Pakistan on the issue of terrorism.
This will make it extremely difficult and certainly be embarrassing for the Chinese if they continue to oppose India's bid in the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee 1267 to list action against the Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar. China would look extremely silly if it were to override a joint declaration which has the approval of its President Xi Jinping. The joint declaration has been adopted by consensus and has the stamp of five heads of government.
China had put India's bid for action against Masood Azhar last year on technical hold. It finally expired in the end of 2016. And again, this year, another resolution calling for action against the JeM chief was brought forth by the US, UK and France. China has put this resolution too on hold. When this comes up for review in October, it will be extremely difficult for China to continue playing truant.
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