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Download PDF Saarc home ministers yesterday decided to exchange information regularly to fight terrorism and work on establishing a convention for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.
They noted that terrorism remains a serious threat to sustainable peace and development of the region, India’s Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta told reporters following the end of a three-day ministerial meeting in New Delhi.
Gupta said considering the need for more frequent and higher level of interaction, the meeting agreed that the existing annual conference on cooperation in police matters should be held biannually.
The Indian secretary said Pakistan has offered to host the next meeting of police chiefs (intelligence heads) in Islamabad in February 2008.
Stressing the need for efforts to tackle cross-border crime — drug and arms smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering — the home ministers decided to strengthen institutional mechanism to facilitate “closer cooperation and more frequent interaction”, Gupta said.
He said the ministers admitted to the need for better electronic networking among the eight-member grouping.
As to the proposed Saarc convention on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, Gupta said it was agreed that the process should be accelerated, disputing media reports that Bangladesh and Pakistan raised objection to the effort.
The meeting decided that legal advisers from member nations should meet before April next year in Sri Lanka to examine the draft of the convention, he said.
Asked if there was any decision on establishing ‘Saarcpol’ on the model of Interpol, the Indian bureaucrat said the ministers suggested enhanced coordination and networking between the police forces of the Saarc countries.
He said the meeting reviewed the implementation of Saarc Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism and the Additional Protocol to it and Saarc Convention on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, recognising the need for “pro-active and sustained measures” and mutual cooperation to combat these menace.
Asked whether New Delhi raised at the meeting its allegations that Bangladeshi and Pakistani elements were behind recent terror attacks in India, Gupta parried the question saying bilateral matters are not discussed at such meetings.
He said Saarc home ministers will meet in Islamabad in February next year, while Male will host the fourth such conference.
Gupta said the home ministers reaffirmed their commitment to a secure environment for facilitating economic growth, development and progress of the region.
He said the delegates emphasised that time has come to “cooperate and collaborate” with each other to get rid of terrorism, terror financing, money laundering, drug trafficking and other organised crimes.
They also expressed satisfaction at the working of the institutional mechanisms within the ambit of the home ministries and urged enhanced coordination and networking among the police forces of the Saarc nations.
The ministers also discussed the Saarc ‘Visa Scheme’ and agreed to provide a special tenure-linked dispensation to the officials of the Saarc secretariat, he said.
Besides, it was agreed that retired Supreme Court judges and serving High Court judges should be included in the consolidated list of entitled persons.
The conference took the decision that the task force on women and children would send information to the Saarc secretariat when necessary.
The Saarc home ministers’ meeting, chaired by Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil, was preceded by a home-secretary level meeting Wednesday and Saarc Police chiefs’ meeting on October 23.
Afghanistan attended the meeting for the first time after its induction into the regional forum.
November 1st, 2007 at 9:16 am
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