Kiren Rijiju says India has 'zero-tolerance' towards terrorism, Pakistan not doing enough to control it

Mumbai: Union minister Kiran Rijiju on Sunday said India had adopted a “zero-tolerance policy” towards terrorism and lamented that neighbour Pakistan was not doing enough to control the growth of terror on its soil. [caption id=“attachment_3318292” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Union minister Kiren Rijiju. PTI[/caption] “The government has made it clear on various international platforms that Pakistan is a breeding ground for terrorism,” he said at a function to commemorate the supreme sacrifices made by the security personnel during the Mumbai terror attack nine years ago. On 26 November, 2008, 10 Pakistani terrorists reached Mumbai via the sea route and opened indiscriminate fire, killing 166 people, including 18 security personnel, and injuring several others, besides damaging property worth crores of rupees. “India has adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism. I do not want to go into its details but the outline is clear,” Rijiju said. Asked about the release of Mumbai terror attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, the Union Minister of State for Home said, “It is a matter of concern for us. We have been putting pressure on Pakistan in a bilateral way as well as through multilateral forums.” Saeed is also the founder of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The UN and US-designated terrorist, who has a USD 10 million American bounty on his head, was freed by Pakistan on Friday. Rijiju said, “On various international forums, we are making it absolutely clear that Pakistan is a breeding ground for terrorism and it is not doing enough to contain the growth of terrorism on its soil. They must do much more than what they had said.” Asked about the neighbouring country being reluctant to cooperate in the Pathankot terror attack probe, the BJP leader said, “Our stand is clear and efforts are going on. I cannot disclose certain aspects of the attack or our efforts.” In January 2016, terrorists had sneaked into an Indian Air Force base in Punjab’s Pathankot. The attack had claimed the lives of seven security personnel, while four terrorists were killed. Rijiju said the coastal borders of India were much more secure now. “We have taken a series of measures to secure the coastal borders. We have adopted a series of integrated coastal security schemes which are effective,” he added.