World Sufi Forum 2016: Some forces and groups are instruments of state policy, says PM

Asserting that there are terror groups that are instruments of state’s policy and design, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said terrorism uses diverse motivations and causes that cannot be justified.

Addressing the first World Sufi Forum, Modi in an oblique reference to Pakistan said while some are trained in organised camps, there are others who “find their inspiration” in cyber space.

“There are forces and groups that are instruments of state policy and design. There are others recruited to the cause in misguided belief.

“There are some who are trained in organised camps. There are those who find their inspiration in the borderless world of cyber space. Terrorism uses diverse motivations and causes, none of which can be justified,” he said at the Forum convened by the All India Ulama and Mashaikh Board to discuss the role of Sufism in countering rising global terror.

Asserting that terrorists “distort” a religion, he said they kill and destroy more in their own land and people than they do elsewhere while making the entire world “insecure and violent”.

“Terrorists distort a religion whose cause they profess to support. They kill and destroy more in their own land and among their own people than they do elsewhere. And, they are putting entire regions to peril and making the world more insecure and violent,” he said.

Noting that terrorism is not a confrontation against any religion, the Prime Minister said it is a battle that must be won through the strength of values and “real” message of religions.

“The fight against terrorism is not a confrontation against any religion. It cannot be. It is a struggle between the values of humanism and the forces of inhumanity.

“It is not a conflict to be fought only through military, intelligence or diplomatic means. It is also a battle that must be won through the strength of our values and the real message of religions,” he said.