Gen Rawat speaks Modi’s language

NEW DELHI: India’s new Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat has said that the ‘war on terror’ is far from over and its roots must be analysed in order to combat terrorism.

“Terrorism is here to stay. So long as there are… states that are going to sponsor terrorism and… use terrorists as proxies, make weapons available to them, [provide] funding for them, then we can’t control terrorism,” Gen. Rawat said, reported foreign media.

He said, “We have to bring an end to terrorism and that can only happen the way Americans started after the 9/11 terror attack. They said let’s go on a spree… [a] global war on terror.”

India, he suggested, has "to take the bull by its horns and strike at the root cause." It would be wrong to think that "the war on terrorism is going to end," he added.

Gen. Rawat, who spent several years leading counter-insurgency operations, hailed the activities of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – an international watchdog tackling money laundering and terrorism financing – saying that countries sponsoring extremists must be held accountable.

"Any country which is sponsoring terrorism has to be taken to task," he said. It is also crucial to tackle “the ideology of radicalisation” and suppress radicalism online, Rawat suggested.