India to press for visible anti-terrorism collaboration

New Delhi, June 21 (PTI) Strengthening of police
cooperation will be high on agenda of the upcoming SAARC Home
Ministers' conference during which India is expected to press
for visible collaboration by member countries in the fight
against terrorism.

India's Home Minister P Chidambaram, who will represent
India, is also expected to press for early ratification by
Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal of the South Asian Association
for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Mutual Legal Assistance
agreement on criminal matters to ensure that terrorism is
combated effectively.
India is expected to underscore that if any country is
serious about fighting terrorism, its cooperation should be
visible in terms of information-sharing and other aspects,
sources told PTI.
The conference in Islamabad on June 26 will also discuss
ways to strengthen the Colombo-based SAARC Terror Offences
Monitoring Desk and Drug Offences Monitoring Desk, which are
the nodal agencies for fight against these scourges, they
said.
A new proposal for maritime security and anti-piracy
under the SAARC format will also be discussed. The proposal
has been mooted by Sri Lanka and Maldives.
The main issue on the agenda will be strengthening of
cooperation among police forces of the eight member countries
for dealing effectively against terrorism.
The conference will deliberate on ways to implement
police networking and exchange of information, sources said.
A mechanism for police cooperation is already in place
for the last two years but it has not really taken off, the
sources said, adding India will underscore the need for making
it an effective tool to fight the menace of terrorism
afflicting South Asia.
The Mutual Legal Assistance agreement, reached at the
SAARC Summit in Colombo in 2008, has also not been ratified by
Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal and India is expected to press
them to do so quickly.
The conference will also discuss issues related to SAARC
visas in the backdrop of proposals for expanding this category
of travel documents.
At present MPs, judges, 100 identified business leaders,
sports persons and 150 journalists are availing SAARC Visa
facility.
This will be reviewed at the upcoming conference.
India is open to the idea of liberalisation of visas to
enable more people to people contacts but underlines the need
to keep security interests in mind.
SAARC comprises India, Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan,
Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. PTI AKK
MRD