By IANS
New Delhi : The eight member-nations of the Saarc Thursday decided upon greater cooperation among them to fight terrorism, which continues to pose a serious threat to peace, prosperity and development in South Asia.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) also decided to expedite its efforts to establish an institutional mechanism for mutual assistance in criminal matters.
“The meeting noted that terrorism remains a serious threat to sustainable peace and development in the Saarc region,” said India’s Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta in his concluding remarks to a three-day conference of the regional grouping.
India hosted the second Saarc meeting of ministers of interior/home Thursday under the chairmanship of India’s Home Minister Shivraj Patil. The Saarc member-states’ interior/home ministry secretaries met Wednesday, and the police chiefs on Tuesday.
Afghanistan attended the meeting for the first time after its induction into SAARC.
Gupta said the member countries, realising the need for more frequent and higher level of interaction among the law enforcing agencies of the region, decided to upgrade the conference on cooperation in police matters to the level of police chiefs and hold it twice a year against annually as at present.
The Indian official said Pakistan has offered to host the next meeting of police chiefs (intelligence heads) in Islamabad in February 2008.
He added that the Saarc countries also decided to strengthen institutional mechanisms for “closer cooperation and more frequent interaction” to tackle cross-border crimes like drug and human trafficking, money laundering and arms smuggling besides terrorism.
The member countries also realized the need for better electronic networking among themselves, Gupta said.
Discounting reports that Pakistan and Bangladesh were opposed to the proposed Saarc convention on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, GUpta said all the members have stressed upon the accelerated need to establish the convention.
He said the legal advisors from the member countries would meet before April next year in Sri Lanka to examine the draft of the convention.
Asked if any decision was taken on launching a ‘Saarcpol’ on the lines of Interpol, he said “enhanced coordination and networking” among the police forces of the Saarc countries was suggested at the meeting.
In this regard, he said India offered to provide assistance in strengthening the Saarc Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desk (STOMD) and the SAARC Drug Offences Monitoring Desk (SDOMD) located in Sri Lanka.
Gupta said an Indian team will visit Sri Lanka shortly to strengthen the Desks and operationally energise them.