India, Britain and the United States as “open societies” should work more closely together on fighting terrorism that is threatening the youth through new-age technologies, says Britain’s Minister of Culture, Media and Sports Sajid Javid.
In an interview to The Hindu , Mr. Javid, who is the highest ranking Minister of South Asian origin in the British Cabinet, said organisations like the IS were recruiting young Europeans and British nationals through different means including the Internet.
To a question about hundreds of British fighters who are members of the IS, including the men seen on recent videos carrying out the beheadings of three journalists and an aid worker in northern Iraq, Mr. Javid said the government worked closely with local Internet service providers to ensure the videos were deleted. “Our foreign office has been very clear,” he added, “If [British citizens] do go and engage in terrorist activities, the British government will come down on you severely, use every tool we have legally. We will track you down and punish you. ”
Even so, officials have been concerned over the numbers of Muslim British nationals who have been found trying to travel to the IS held areas to join the terror group.
According to a conservative estimate of the IMF and other institutes, at least 400 of the approximately 15,000 foreign IS fighters are from the UK. Reports are also growing of teenage girls and women travelling to these areas as “IS brides” from Britain.
Admitting his concerns, Mr. Javid said: “Its incumbent on all these countries to find out what is driving these people to go to foreign countries and rape or kill people there. The U.N. Secretary General said that bombs can fight and kill terrorists, but they can’t kill terrorism. All countries have to work harder together including India and the U.S. and U.K. to fight this kind of terrorism around the world wherever it is.”
