Quad member countries condemn ‘reprehensible’ Delhi Red Fort blast, call for justice
The CTWG meeting was held as part of India’s hosting of the next Quad Summit. The Quadrilateral CTWG was established during the Quadrilateral Meeting of Foreign Ministers held in New Delhi in March 2023.
Fifteen people were killed and more than two dozen were injured in the explosion.
The third Quad Counter-Terrorism Working Group (CTWG) meeting between India, Japan, Australia and the US was held in New Delhi on December 4 and 5, where Quad partners unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism. They also expressed their condolences over the heinous terrorist incident that took place near the Red Fort in Delhi on November 10. They called for the perpetrators, organizers and financiers of this heinous act to be brought to justice and called on all UN Member States to cooperate in this regard.
The CTWG meeting was held as part of India’s hosting of the next Quad Summit. The Quadrilateral CTWG was established during the Quadrilateral Meeting of Foreign Ministers held in New Delhi in March 2023. Ambassador Sibi George, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs, in his opening remarks, underlined the need to build a common resolve within the Quad to combat the scourge of terrorism and called on all Quad members to take necessary steps to make the Quad CTWG a more resilient, robust and action-oriented Working Group. In its statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said that it thanked the Quad member countries for showing solidarity and supporting India following the April 22, 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack.
The meeting was chaired by senior officials responsible for the fight against terrorism. “The Quadrilateral partners unequivocally condemned all forms and manifestations of terrorism, including cross-border terrorism. They also expressed their condolences for the heinous terrorist incident that took place near the Red Fort in Delhi on 10 November 2025. They called for the perpetrators, organizers and financiers of this heinous act to be brought to justice and called on all UN Member States to cooperate in this regard,” the statement said.
15 people were killed and more than two dozen people were injured in the explosion that took place near the Red Fort in Delhi at around 19:00 on November 10. The National Investigation Agency is investigating the incident. During the meeting, the Quad member countries made assessments regarding the terrorist threat environment, including developments in the Indo-Pacific region. They discussed the full scope of cooperation in the fight against terrorism and measures that can be used to overcome existing and emerging challenges. They underlined the importance of ensuring that the Indo-Pacific remains open and free from terrorist threats. At the meeting, a Desktop Exercise (TTx) titled “Anti-terrorism Operations in the Urban Environment” was held. TTx provided CT experts with the opportunity to share best practices and identify potential opportunities for joint operational preparedness to respond to complex terrorist scenarios.
The Quadrilateral partners reiterated their commitment to strengthening cooperation in multilateral forums. They also emphasized the value of continuous information sharing about terrorists, terrorist organizations and their proxies. Dr. Vinod Bahade, Joint Secretary for Counter-Terrorism, Ministry of External Affairs, India; Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Counter-Terrorism Ambassador Gemma Huggins; MINAMI Hiroyuki, Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador for International Cooperation in Combating Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime; and Monica Ager Jacobsen, Senior Bureau Official, United States Department of State, Bureau of Counterterrorism, led the respective delegations. In September 2025, India hosted two Quad CTWG workshops on countering the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for terrorist purposes and preventing the exploitation of new and emerging technologies by terrorists for terrorist financing. These workshops were organized by the National Security Guard and the National Investigative Agency, respectively, in coordination with the Department of State. The Quadrilateral partners committed to further deepen counter-terrorism cooperation within the framework of the Quad and to hold the next meeting of the Quadrilateral Working Group on Counter-Terrorism in 2026.
(Except for the title, this news has not been edited by the DNA team and is published from ANI news agency).
