New Delhi, Oct 27 (Inditop.com) The terror strikes in India have revealed the terrorists’ “sinister design” of hurting the Indian economy and adversely affecting the country’s foreign investment prospects, union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said Tuesday.
“Over the years, the terrorist activities have expanded to many new areas across the length and breadth of the country. Analysis of the recent terrorist incidents and targets of the terrorist groups reveal a distinct pattern and indicate a sinister design. Terrorist strikes are mainly directed towards prominent pillars of the Indian economy,” Azad said at an international conference on terrorism organised here by the Jama Masji United Forum.
Azad cited last year’s Jaipur terror strikes “targeting the tourism industry” and the attack on Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, and also the 2005 attack on the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, the country’s IT hub.
These attacks, he said, “point to the larger game plan of terrorists, which is to destabilise the country”.
“The phenomenal growth of the Indian economy in the post liberalisation period, giving India a growing influence in the international arena, has made it a potential target of the terrorists,” Azad said, stressing that terrorism can have “many detrimental effects from an economic standpoint”.
“Terrorist incidents create a sense of uncertainty, vitiate the general atmosphere and have an adverse impact on international investors. It naturally affects the FDI flow, which is vital for economic growth.
“Given the competitiveness among economies in the world, India’s foreign investment prospects may therefore be adversely affected,” he said, elaborating on the “detrimental effects” a terror attack could have on the economy.
