External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in New York. AFP

Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 22

Terrorism remained the key theme as India went all guns blazing at Pakistan-sponsored terror at the UN General Assembly session and sideline meetings today.A young diplomat, Eanam Gambhir, minced no words while dubbing Pakistan “terroristan” in India’s right to reply during general debate at the 72nd session. “In its short history, Pakistan has become a geography synonymous with terror. The quest for a land of the pure has actually produced ‘the land of pure terror’. Pakistan is now terroristan,” she said. India was replying to Pakistan PM Shahi Khaqan Abbasi’s speech earlier where he had accused India of “abetting terrorism” and had sought a UN envoy for Kashmir.Participating in the BRICS ministerial meeting along the sidelines, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj emphasised on collective efforts to “disrupt terrorist networks, their financing and movement” and early conclusion and adoption of the CCIT (comprehensive convention on international terrorism) at the UN.Taking a jibe at tPakistan, Sushma said, “Terror groups continue to draw sustenance from support systems, including those based in South Asia. They continue to find support and shelter in countries that use terrorism as an instrument of state policy. Countering terrorism must not be a matter of political convenience.”The BRICS meet, attended by Sushma’s Chinese counterpart Wang Yi among others, in its joint release, said, “The Ministers reiterated their strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They urged concerted efforts to counter terrorism on a firm international legal basis, under the UN auspices, and expressed their conviction that a comprehensive approach was necessary to ensure effective fight against terrorism.”But unlike the joint statement issued after the recent BRICS Summit in Xiamen, the New York statement did not mention terror groups ‘Taliban, Isil/Daish, Al-Qaida and its affiliates, including Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, TTP and Hizb ut-Tahrir’.