Expanding the definition of terror attacks in the context of manmade disasters, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said the threat of terrorism had the potential to turn into disasters across borders.
The PM’s remarks, made in his inaugural address at the second Asian ministerial conference on disaster risk reduction here, was perceived by sections at being aimed at Pakistan, with the underlying message that its policies to entertain terror infrastructure could be one of the reasons for the country?s current predicament.
The PM, however, did point out how the two countries, by joining forces, had effectively tackled the earthquake in the J&K region. In doing so, he underlined that as demonstrated in the case of natural disasters, the two nations would benefit if they pooled resources to battle the threat of terrorism instead of trying to fight it alone.
??Past episodes has shown us that a national response alone is not adequate. While we have the necessary wherewithal in Asia to respond to disasters, we need more bilateral and regional cooperation to make effective use of our capabilities?? he told the conference.
Cautioning the international community the threat of terrorism looms large in many parts of our region and could trigger disasters across borders, he said, ??The focus of this conference need not be limited to natural disasters alone. Modern societies must also prepare to come together to deal with manmade disasters – be they industrial disasters or disasters caused by terrorists? attacks.?? He added that: ??We must also learn to deal with new kinds of health disasters such as HIV, Avian Flu, which have emerged as new challenges all over the world. They have enormous social and economic consequences.?? ??I hope our region can come together to tackle man-made as well as natural disasters,?? he said.
Observing that disaster knows no political boundaries and everyone is equally vulnerable to it, Singh said, ??This is one area where every nation can come together to find a collective solution.?? Advocating a community-based approach to deal with disasters, Singh said it could help in dealing with ??panic, rumour-mongering?? and provide immediate relief to victims. In risk reduction, he said, such an approach can have positive results.