Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina discussed with India’s No. 2 Pranab Mukherjee on Feb 9 in Dhaka her concept of a South Asia task force to combat terror. Indian minister heard her. He doesn’t appear to be enthused by the idea. Because he told the media later that sincerity to fight menace of terrorism is more important since there are ‘certain regional and international mechanisms exit to combat terror.
Any regional cooperation on any issue in South Asia perforce has to involve Pakistan. Its presence cannot be wished away. So the success of Hasina’s proposal will depend on how Pakistan addresses the issue of terrorism and gets involved in the fight. The SAARC convention on terrorism is still to cross Pak hurdle.
Post-26/11 its denial mode has become a regional topic but long before that Pakistan had slipped into denial mode on Taliban and al Qaeda operating in the border regions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. President Barak Obama is concerned and has vowed not to let them operate ‘with impunity’. He told Pakistan (Feb 9) that Washington had not yet seen the kind of concerted effort to root out those safe havens that ‘ultimately make our mission successful’.
SA leaders have to factor in the CIA warnings that British- born Pakistani extremists may enter US to repeat 9/11.
SA leaders have to factor in the CIA warnings that British- born Pakistani extremists may enter US to repeat 9/11. MI5 has identified as many as 2000 terrorist suspects amongst the Pakistan community in Britain. Lahore based Lashkar-e-Taiba has a wide web of supporters in UK. American security establishment views LeT as serious a threat to US and UK as al –Qaeda. And LeT has been charged with committing Mumbai mayhem on 26/11 as confessed by the lone surviving gun man Afzal Kasab.
Pakistan in an extension of its denial regime, has made an attempt to invovle Bangladesh saying the 26/11 terror trail led to HUJI-B. Dhaka has dubbed the ‘act’ as ‘irresponsible and malicious attempt to vitiate the relationship between Bangladesh and India.
MI5 has identified as many as 2000 terrorist suspects amongst the Pakistan community in Britain. Lahore based Lashkar-e-Taiba has a wide web of supporters in UKAnd Bangladesh media has pounced on Islamabad saying ‘It is common knowledge that Pakistan has not been very effective in controlling terror on its soil. And events in Pakistan give one the impression that the non-state actors are increasingly playing a dominant role in that country. One hopes that with a scrupulous investigation truth will be revealed. This is important for all of us in South Asia but most of all for Pakistan if the scourge of terrorism, that is ever increasing in its pervasiveness in some parts of the region, has to be tackled successfully’
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American security establishment views LeT as serious a threat to US and UK as al –Qaeda. |
