Pulwama attackers should be held accountable, brought to justice: Saudi FM

Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Kingdom's Finance Minister on Wednesday said those who carried out the deadly Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir should be held accountable and brought to justice.

Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Adel al-Jubeir. AP Photo (File)

NEW DELHI: Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks here with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Kingdom's Finance Minister on Wednesday said those who carried out the deadly Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir should be held accountable and brought to justice, PTI reported. Adel Aljubeir, who is part of the delegation accompanying the Crown Prince, also rejected suggestions that Riyadh was opposed to India's efforts to get JeM chief Masood Azhar banned by the United Nations. Asked about rising tension between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama attack, Aljubeir said Saudi Arabia believed that both countries can de-escalate and resolve issues peacefully. It is important that those who committed the terrible Pulwama terrorist act be held accountable and brought to justice, he told PTI. The finance minister said that Saudi Arabia will not involve itself into tensions between India and Pakistan without being invited by both the countries. "We have good relations with both countries and if both want us to play some kind of a role, we would consider it," he said. Nobody wants to see armed conflict between two nuclear powers, nobody benefits except terrorists, he added. He also said the joint statement of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan on the UN designations was not against India's efforts to get Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar banned. The Saudi Foreign Minister said his country follows a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism and that "anyone who supports and finances terrorism must be designated and punished". "I think people here assumed that the joint statement had to do with one particular individual (Azhar). It did not. The intention was that the process of designation is clear and not political," he said. Any terrorist or anyone who supports terror must be designated by the Union Nations, Aljubeir said.