Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has called upon the international community to come together and join hands against countries harbouring terror with a coherent policy and an effective strategy against terrorism.Mahajan, who is leading an Indian Parliamentary Delegation (IPD) to the 135th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Geneva, emphasised that in the age of globalisation, the success or failure of one country is having a cascading effect on other countries. According to a release issued in New Delhi on Tuesday, Mahajan said: "All nations should endeavour to promote and protect human rights and prevent their violations."
She also stressed that human rights should not become an excuse for outside interference in internal affairs of the sovereign states.Earlier, the IPD exercising its right of reply in response to the statement made by Pakistan, criticised the misuse of the august body of the IPU by Pakistan to make tendentious references about internal matters pertaining to the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. "It was made clear to Pakistan that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will remain so for eternity. It was emphasised that the fundamental reason for the situation in Kashmir is the cross-border terrorism sponsored by Pakistan," the release said.