Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday called upon the United States and its allies to seek advice from and consult with the “three emerging great powers” -- India, China and Russia -- to tackle the problem of terrorism or extremism in the world.
Addressing a gathering of senior Sri Lankan officials, both civilian and military, and diplomats of Sri Lanka and other countries at a seminar organised by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) here, Mr Karzai said: "If they [the U.S. and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation on the one hand and India, China and Russia, on the other] see eye to eye; begin to consult on the rights and wrongs of today’s world order to end human suffering, we will see without a doubt a more stable international order and less suffering for us.”
Mr. Karzai suggested this as one of the two options to deal with the problem of terrorism or extremism, which, he said, was on the rise. The other option mentioned by him was “the return to morality in international politics.”
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As part of this option, he said each country should conduct politics, domestic and international, “with some moral restrictions.” If this was not possible, let there be a return to the system of balance of power, as existed when the U.S./NATO and the former Soviet Union/Warsaw Pact were the dominant players in the world. “At least, we had security and peace as a consequence of balance of power in the world.”
Describing the narrow definition of “national interests” as the culprit for the spread of extremism or terrorism, he said it was “absolutely impossible” for any non-state actor to be able to inflict damage on any country or society “without a back-up support system,” which could be provided only by a state or a state structure. Ethnicity and religion were the means being used by one country against another country.
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It is a common threat
Mr. Karzai emphasised that the problem of terrorism would not be eliminated unless the international community began to see terrorism as “a common threat to all.”
Arvind Gupta, India’s Deputy National Security Adviser, said cooperation with Sri Lanka was an integral part of India’s approach to maritime security and India would work closely with its neighbour in addressing shared challenges in the areas of security and development.
B.M. U. D. Dissanayake, Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary, said the seminar, being held since 2011, was meant for sharing knowledge and experiences on regional and global issues of security.