Threats endangering South Asia's peace and stability on rise: Sushma Swaraj

The number of threats and incidents endangering South Asia's peace and stability are on the rise, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Friday, in an apparent reference to Pakistan.

Sushma Swaraj, on the sidelines of the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, said regional prosperity, connectivity and cooperation can take place only in an atmosphere of peace and security.

"It, however, remains at serious risk in the region. The number of threats and incidents that endanger South Asia's peace and stability are on the rise," she said in the opening statement at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Foreign Ministers meeting.

"It is necessary for our region's survival that we eliminate the scourge of terrorism in all its forms, without any discrimination, and end the ecosystem of its support," Sushma Swaraj was quoted as saying in a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs.

Swaraj said India attaches the highest priority to the development and prosperity of the region under its "neighbourhood first" policy.

Several initiatives that Prime Minister Modi had announced for the region have already been implemented.

Swaraj, earlier, underscored the need to combat terrorism in her multilateral meetings and sent a "very strong" signal to Pakistan to stop using it as an instrument of state policy.

-PTI