Terrorism to stay as long as nations use it as state policy: Rawat

New Delhi, Jan 9: Asserting that terrorism is becoming a new form of warfare, Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat said Wednesday the menace is spreading its head like a “multi-headed monster” and is “here to stay” as long as states continue to use it as a state policy.

                Rawat, speaking at a panel discussion at the Raisina Dialogue here, also said that there was a need to control social media as it was becoming a source of spreading radicalisation.

                He said a different kind of radicalisation was being witnessed in India and in Jammu and Kashmir, the youth were getting radicalised due to a lot of misinformation, disinformation, and a lot of falsehoods on religion being fed to them.

                “That is why you find more and more educated youth being drawn into terrorism,” he said.

                Terrorism is here to stay as long as there are nations that continue to sponsor it as a state policy, Rawat said, without naming Pakistan.

                “Terrorism is becoming a new form of warfare. A weaker nation is using terrorists as proxy to put pressure on another nation to come to terms with it,” he said.

                The phenomenon of terrorism is now spreading its head like a multi-headed monster, Rawat said.

                On the Afghan peace process, he said there should be negotiations with the Taliban, but without conditions.

                He also asserted that Pakistan has always kept the Taliban in its backyard and should be concerned about it.

Asserting that no country is immune to the “existential threat” of terrorism, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the need of hour is to ensure zero tolerance towards terrorism and those using it as an “instrument of convenience”.

                Swaraj said that with unwavering belief in multilateralism, India speaks not just for itself but also for the cause of justice, opportunity and prosperity around the world.

                “For us, transformation is not just a domestic agenda but a global vision,” she said.

                Talking about the “critical challenges” that confront the world, she said the first among them is terrorism.

                 “There was a time when India would talk about terrorism and it would be treated as a law and order issue at many global platforms. Today, no country, big or small, is immune to the existential threat, particularly terrorism actively supported and sponsored by states,” Swaraj said.

                In this digital age, the challenge posed by terrorism is even greater with more vulnerability to radicalisation, she said.

                As far back as 1996,  India proposed a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the United Nations, but it remains a draft to this day because the countries cannot agree on a common definition of terrorism, she said.

                “Ensuring zero tolerance towards terrorism and towards those using it as an instrument of convenience is the need of the hour,” the external affairs minister said.

                She said the threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and climate change were also major challenges facing the international community.