Brics declaration hits out at Pahalgam attack

The Brics grouping strongly condemned the Pahalgam terror attack on Sunday and called for combating the cross-border movement of terrorists, terror financing and safe havens, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said supporting terrorists for political gains should be unacceptable.

- Rezaul H Laskar

The terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir on April 22, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians and led to four days of hostilities between India and Pakistan after New Delhi targeted terror infrastructure across the border, was denounced in a strongly worded leaders' declaration adopted at the Brics Summit in Rio de Janeiro. India had stepped up efforts to secure the bloc's backing for its new approach to fighting crossborder terror.

Without naming the US, the declaration also criticised the "indiscriminate rising of tariffs", saying such measures threaten to undermine global trade and disrupt global supply chains. The declaration also emphasised the need for urgent reforms to global institutions such as the UN Security Council and the Bretton Woods Institutions to make them more inclusive and capable of facing modern challenges. The declaration further condemned recent military strikes against Iran and expressed grave concern at the resumption of Israeli attacks against Gaza.

The declaration condemned all acts of terrorism as "criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation". It said, "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.