‘Sri Lanka’s Top Priority Is To Introduce Strict Laws To Eliminate Jihad’: PM Wickremesinghe

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said the government's top priority is to introduce strict new legislation to eliminate extremism and jihadism for the country, the Times of India reports citing the Colombo Page.

The new Counter-Terrorism Bill, which provides for territorial jurisdiction was passed in the Sri Lankan Parliament without any delay, a week after the Easter Sunday attacks which claimed over 250 lives.

"No anti-terrorism law in Sri Lanka provides for territorial jurisdiction under which a cadre belonging to an international terrorist organisation could be arrested in Sri Lanka if they are found. Not even the penal code provides that provision," the Daily Mirror quotes the PM as saying.

"We have included this provision in the new Counter-Terrorism Bill. However, it is stuck in Parliament for months. The Easter Sunday attacks could have been prevented if this legislation was passed," he said.

Further, PM Wickremesinghe reiterates that the defence authorities should have acted on the warnings provided to them by the intelligence units.

Numerous Sri Lankan and International media organisations had reported that both the United States and India had warned Sri Lanka about the terror attacks, ahead of the bombings.