There must be a cost for those who support terrorists: Swaraj attacks Pakistan

Two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked tough on Pakistan at the BRICS Summit, calling the country a "mothership" of terror in an indirect reference, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday said there must be a cost for those who support terrorists.

Speaking at BRICS Media Forum, EAM Swaraj said, "There is a growing recognition that terror has become a truly global challenge. BRICS Summit saw growing recognition that there cannot be business as usual in dealing with terror."

"There must be a cost for those who support terrorists and make false distinction between good and bad terrorists," Swaraj added.

Addressing Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Jacob Zuma and South African leader Michel Temer at the BRICS Summit's "restricted" segment, Modi on Sunday said the "most serious" direct threat to regional security was terrorism whose "mothership" was a country in India's neighbourhood.

"In our own region, terrorism poses a grave threat to peace, security and development. Tragically its mothership is a country in India's neighbourhood. Terror modules around the world are linked to this mothership," he said. 

However, China on Monday strongly defended its all-weather ally, saying it is against the linking of any country or religion to terror and asked the world community to acknowledge Pakistan's "great sacrifices".