Sushma Swaraj slams Pakistan at SCO meet
Beijing, April 24: India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday slammed Pakistan for sheltering terrorists and urged the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to act against the countries that promote terrorism.
Without a direct reference to Pakistan, Sushma Swaraj said the world community together must "wipe-out this scourge from the face of the earth".
"There are a number of challenges that are being faced by the world today, foremost being the threat of global terrorism and the imminent need to build a strong security architecture to combat it.
"Terrorism is an enemy of the basic human rights: of life, peace and prosperity," she said at the foreign ministers meet of the SCO here.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif was also present at the meeting.
"We strongly believe that our fight against terrorism should not only seek to eliminate terrorists but should also identify and take strong measures against states that encourage, support and finance terrorism and provide sanctuary to terrorists and terror groups," the Indian Minister said.
"The criminal terrorist militias are not impeded by borders as they seek to destroy the architecture of international stability and build walls of fear in societies that believe in pluralism.
"Maiming and killing innocent lives indiscriminately, constitutes the most blatant violation of human rights. We have to work together to wipe-out this scourge from the face of the earth.
"In order to realise this objective, we must unite across our differences, strengthen our resolve and script an effective strategy against terror.
"We welcome the clarity shown by the SCO on terrorism from its inception," Sushma Swaraj added.
The SCO is a Eurasian intergovernmental organisation, the creation of which was announced in 2001 in Shanghai by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism.
India, along with Pakistan, were granted full member status at the SCO summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, in June 2017.
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Blast occurred in slow-moving vehicle near Red Fort traffic signal: Delhi Police chief
New Delhi (PTI): Soon after a car explosion near the Red Fort killing at least eight people, Delhi Police commissioner Satish Golcha on Monday said the blast took place in a slow-moving vehicle near the Red Fort traffic signal.
Talking to reporters at the blast site, he confirmed multiple deaths and injuries, and said Union Home Minister Amit Shah was being regularly briefed about the incident.
"There was a blast around 6.52 pm in a slow moving vehicle near Red Fort. There were passengers inside the vehicle," Golcha said, adding other vehicles were damaged in the incident.
Earlier, officials said that the explosion happened inside a parked car.
The police commissioner said all agencies, including Delhi Police, forensic team, NIA, NSG, are taking stock of the situation.
"Some deaths happened, few people got injured. The situation is being regularly monitored. The home minister is being regularly briefed," he said.
A high-intensity explosion occurred near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, gutting several vehicles and killing at least eight people, officials said.
Twenty-four people were injured in the blast that took place at a time when the area was milling with people. The injured were taken to the LNJP hospital a few kilometres away.
