‘Strongest terms’: Brics declaration slams Pahalgam attack, reaffirms stand against terror

NEW DELHI: Leaders of the Brics nations on Sunday issued a strong condemnation of the April 22 terrorist attack in J&K's Pahalgam, which left 26 people dead. In a joint declaration following the summit in Rio de Janeiro, the leaders labelled the attack "criminal and unjustifiable" and called for united global action to root out terrorism in all its forms.

"We express strong condemnation of any acts of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, whenever, wherever and by whomever committed. We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April 2025, during which 26 people were killed and many more injured," the BRICS declaration said while reaffirming the bloc's commitment to a "zero tolerance" approach to terrorism.


The leaders underscored that terrorism, regardless of its motivation, origin or perpetrators, must be countered through unified international efforts.


Cross-border terror, financing, and safe havens highlighted
The Brics statement went further to denounce the cross-border movement of terrorists, terrorism financing, and the existence of safe havens for terrorist groups.

"We reaffirm our commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, terrorism financing and safe havens," the statement added.

The declaration emphasised that terrorism must not be linked to any religion, ethnicity, civilisation, or nationality. It also insisted that those responsible for terrorist acts and those who support them must be held accountable under both national and international law.

"We reiterate that terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilisation or ethnic group and that all those involved in terrorist activities and their support must be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with relevant national and international law," it said.

In a thinly veiled critique of inconsistent global responses to terrorism, the Brics leaders rejected "double standards" in counterterrorism. They emphasised the primary responsibility of nation-states to combat terrorism while urging international cooperation that respects the UN Charter, human rights law, and humanitarian law.

"We urge to ensure zero tolerance for terrorism and reject double standards in countering terrorism. We emphasize the primary responsibility of States in combating terrorism and that global efforts to prevent and counter terrorist threats must fully comply with their obligations under international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, in particular the purposes and principles thereof, and relevant international conventions and protocols, in particular international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, as applicable," it said.

The declaration also called for the finalisation of the long-pending Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) under the United Nations framework — a proposal India has long championed.

"We welcome the activities of the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Working Group (CTWG) and its five Subgroups based upon the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Strategy, the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Action Plan and the CTWG position paper. We look forward to further deepening counter-terrorism cooperation. We call for an expeditious finalization and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the UN framework. We call for concerted actions against all UN-designated terrorists and terrorist entities," it said.