Renewing their commitment to work together to fight terrorism, the Quad foreign ministers on Tuesday demanded that all those responsible for the “reprehensible” Pahalgam terror attack be immediately brought to justice and countries concerned cooperate with the authorities.
In a joint statement after their meeting, the Quad foreign ministers said, “We call for the perpetrators, organisers, and financiers of this reprehensible act to be brought to justice without any delay and urge all UN Member States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant UNSCRs (Security Council Resolutions), to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard.”
“The Quad unequivocally condemns all acts of terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism, and renews our commitment to counterterrorism cooperation,” the statement said.
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Foreign Ministers Penny Wong of Australia and Takeshi Iwaya of Japan representing the major democracies of the Indo-Pacific region met for their second ministerial meeting of the year.
They said, “We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22, 2025, which claimed the lives of 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen, while injuring several others. We express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and extend our heartfelt wishes for a swift and full recovery to all those injured.”
While the Quad foreign ministers’ statement did not explicitly name Pakistan, it clearly conveyed its stance by referencing “cross-border terrorism” and condemning the Pahalgam terror attack.
Before the ministers met, Jaishankar said, “India has every right to defend its people against terrorism, and we will exercise that right.”
“We expect our quad partners to understand and appreciate that,” he emphasised.
The top diplomats said they looked forward to the Quad summit to be hosted later this year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which will be attended by US President Donald Trump and Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese of Australia and Shigeru Ishiba of Japan.
The ministers said that they “plan to launch the Quad Ports of the Future Partnership in Mumbai this year.”
“To ensure the Quad’s enduring impact, we are pleased to announce today a new, ambitious, and strong agenda focused on four key areas: maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity and security, critical and emerging technology, and humanitarian assistance and emergency response. Through this renewed focus, we will sharpen the Quad’s ability to leverage our resources to address the region’s most pressing challenges,” the ministers added.
The four areas are maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity and security, critical and emerging technology, and humanitarian assistance and emergency response.
(With inputs from IANS)
