Countries Using Terrorism Must Be 'Penalised And Ostracised': Ex-US Envoy To News18

Last Updated:June 27, 2025, 19:02 IST

Khalilzad acknowledged that both India and the US have suffered due to terrorism, particularly during America’s involvement in Afghanistan

FILE - In this Feb. 8, 2019, file photo, Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad at the U.S. Institute of Peace, in Washington. Khalilzad was met with skepticism on Capitol Hill Wednesday, May 22, as he briefed lawmakers on peace talks with the Taliban aimed at ending the 17-year war in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Zalmay Khalilzad, former US Ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq and the 26th US Permanent Representative to the United Nations, on Friday supported India’s stand against terrorism, saying countries that use it as a tool of foreign policy must face consequences.

In an interview with CNN-News18, Khalilzad said terrorism remains a “big problem" and called for unity in isolating and penalising countries that support or use terrorism for political purposes.

Without naming Pakistan directly, he said, “No nation in the region or anywhere should use terrorism as an instrument of policy and we have seen even in the case of Pakistan itself that it has suffered from terrorism as well."

Khalilzad acknowledged that both India and the US have suffered due to terrorism, particularly during America’s involvement in Afghanistan.

He firmly agreed with India’s position, stating, “We have suffered from it while we were in Afghanistan and we have suffered from it in the United States. We fully support India’s stand that terrorism as an instrument of policy, it must stop and that is a very legitimate stand."

Highlighting the consequences faced even by countries that once supported terrorist groups, Khalilzad referred to a well-known quote by Hillary Clinton, often cited by Indian officials.

“I hear my very distinguished friend, the foreign minister of India, quoting Mrs. Clinton that if you keep snakes in your backyard and you only think it will bite your those snakes will only bite your neighbour, you miscalculate, they’ll bite you as well. So I think it must stop," he said.

He added, “We have to work together, the United States as a leading world power and India as an emerging global power and others must work together to make sure that those who use terrorism to advance policy, they are penalised and they are isolated and ostracised."

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