The New Delhi Declaration 2026, adopted at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on 15 September 2026, has condemned the Pahalgam terrorist attack of 22 April 2025 and adopted firm language against cross-border movement of terrorists, terror financing, safe havens, and double standards in countering terrorism — marking what analysts describe as a significant diplomatic achievement for India.

What the Declaration Says

The joint declaration, signed by all BRICS member nations, states: 'We express strong condemnation of any acts of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, whenever, wherever and by whomsoever committed.' It goes on to specifically condemn 'the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April 2025, during which 26 people were killed and many more injured.'

The declaration further commits member states to combating terrorism 'in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, terrorism financing and safe havens,' while calling for zero tolerance against terrorism and rejecting double standards in its countering. The leaders also emphasised that States bear the primary responsibility for combating terrorism, and that all counter-terrorism efforts must comply with international law, the UN Charter, international human rights law, refugee law, and humanitarian law.

Why This Matters for India

According to a report published in Rising Kashmir, authored by Sunil Sethi and Altaf Thakur, India succeeded in ensuring that the Pahalgam attack did not fade into the long catalogue of terrorist incidents the country has endured over the years. By elevating the attack to a multilateral diplomatic platform, India secured condemnation from a diverse bloc of major nations — a group that includes countries not traditionally aligned with New Delhi's position on cross-border terrorism.

'For India, the development represents an important diplomatic achievement,' Sethi and Thakur wrote, adding that BRICS has reinforced India's longstanding argument that 'terrorism cannot be legitimised by political explanations and nations cannot selectively distinguish between terrorists as per their strategic convenience.'

Notably, the significance of the declaration is amplified by the fact that it does not stop at condemning the attack in isolation — it pairs that condemnation with explicit language on the broader terrorism ecosystem: financing, safe havens, and cross-border movement. India has consistently argued that fighting terrorism requires action not only against the individual perpetrator but against the entire infrastructure that enables attacks.

The Pakistan Dimension

During the Pahalgam attack on 22 April 2025, Pakistan-backed terrorists gunned down 26 innocent tourists after reportedly identifying them by religion — one of the deadliest targeted attacks on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir in recent years. While the New Delhi Declaration does not name Pakistan explicitly, the Rising Kashmir report argues that 'the political significance of the declaration lies precisely in the terminology accepted by a diverse group of important nations.'

The report poses a pointed question for Islamabad: 'How long can the international narrative surrounding cross-border terrorism remain separated from the infrastructure, organisations and ideological networks that India has repeatedly accused of operating from Pakistani territory?' The authors note that while Pakistan's omission by name should 'neither be concealed nor exaggerated,' the weight of multilateral consensus carries its own diplomatic pressure.

BRICS and the Multilateral Signal

The declaration's language reinforces a principle India has championed for years — that the terrorism ecosystem, not just isolated actors, must be dismantled. With BRICS member countries now on record supporting this framework, India gains a multilateral backing that strengthens its diplomatic hand in future international forums, including the United Nations.

The declaration also reiterates that 'terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilisation or ethnic group,' and that all those involved in terrorist activities and their support networks must be held accountable under national and international law. As the summit concludes, the durability of this consensus — and whether it translates into concrete multilateral action — will be the measure of its true significance.