Kathmandu, March 15
Finance Minister Dr Yubaraj Khatiwada has said terrorism is a menace not confined to a particular society, country or a region: it is a global problem, permeating all sorts of boundaries and affecting every society in one way or other.
Addressing the fourth edition of the Counter Terrorism Conference held in Gurgaon, India, on Wednesday, FM Dr Khatiwada said terrorism not only causes destruction of lives and properties but also seeks to uproot the very foundation of our civilizations and values. Terrorism disrupts society’s progress, country’s development and humanity’s ingenuity and sense of fraternity.
A press release issued by Nepali Embassy in India shared that FM Khatiwada pointed out the need of a stringent legislative framework to deter and disrupt all types of terrorist activities. Such legislative measures should be complemented by proper counter-terrorism strategies and appropriate tools to detect incidence of radicalization, exploitation of internet and social media platforms by terrorist organizations.
Dr Khatiwada highlighted Nepal’s policy of never allowing its land to be exploited by any groups trying to carry out terrorist activities anywhere in our region or beyond. He stressed that terrorism should never be used as a means to serve any interest.
As a member of the United Nations, SAARC and BIMSTEC, the Minister said, Nepal has joined and implemented international and regional treaties on counter-terrorism. Within SAARC, he added, Nepal has a notable track record in supporting collective undertaking against terrorism as the region’s first framework treaty in this regard, namely SAARC Convention on Suppression of Terrorism, was the outcome of the third Summit which Kathmandu hosted. The Minister also mentioned of BIMSTEC as another important regional platform to act together on terrorism.
Speaking on Nepal’s national capacity and preparedness against terrorism, the Finance Minister mentioned that the country has enhanced security infrastructure and trained security personnel so as to remain prepared to meet the emerging security demands, including prevention of any form of terrorist attack. Security wings are updated on the new forms of technology and Nepal has made efforts to provide them with required international exposure, he said.
The FM further shared that in compliance with its international obligations on terrorist financing, Nepal has established financial intelligence unit and anti money laundering agency under Money Laundering Prevention Act as the central entities to detect, process, and analyze financial information and intelligence on suspected money laundering and terrorist financing activities.
