Terrorism without borders
The recent arrest in the country of several terrorists belonging to foreign terrorist outfits points to the existence of terrorists with active international links who are carrying out terrorism inside the country.
Police intelligence sources say that more than 50 terrorists of Pakistan and India are active in terrorism in Bangladesh with blessing from the banned Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (Huji), which was formed reportedly with assistance from Osama bin Laden. This outfit has a strong network with other terrorist groups in South Asia to carry out its nefarious designs.
All the foreign extremists so far arrested are leaders of the Kashmir-based militant outfit Asif Reza Commando Force (ARCF) or Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which have been working together with similar outfits in Bangladesh. Police had earlier arrested Indian national Daud Merchant along with his accomplice from Brahmanbaria. Daud Merchant is a close associate of the underworld mafia don Daud Ibrahim.
The arrest and subsequent confessional statements by the terrorists clearly suggest that they have active international links. No terrorist outfit can operate without external links, as funding, equipment and logistics are not always available in a single place. The arrested Huji founder confessed the involvement of foreign terrorists in the August 21, 2004 grenade attack on the Awami League rally.
South Asia has been suffering the most from the dreadful scourge of terrorism compared to other regions in the world. Whatever may be the identity of the terrorists, it is no doubt a setback for all the South Asian countries, and regional resolve is needed to banish terrorism.
Terrorism in South Asia has not only established itself in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but also expanded to other parts of the region. Pakistan is in an embattled condition because of the ceaseless activities of the religious terrorists. The spectre of terrorism has found a new dimension with its cross-border links.
The UN, in association with the government of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, arranged a three-day workshop in Dhaka for the frontline officers involved in combating terrorism in the Saarc countries to discuss their experiences and the lessons they had learnt in combating terrorism in their respective countries. The regional workshop also gave them an opportunity to enhance their counter terrorism capacities and raising their awareness of the latest available techniques of investigation.
The Saarc Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism was signed in Kathmandu in November 1987 during the third Saarc summit, and came into force after ratification by all member countries. The Convention provides a regional focus to many established principles of international law in this respect. Under its provisions, member countries are committed to extradite or prosecute alleged terrorists, thus preventing them from enjoying safe havens.
The Additional Protocol to the Saarc Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism was signed by the member states in the 12th Saarc summit held in Islamabad in January 2004. All the member countries have so far ratified the additional protocol except Nepal. This ratification came amidst assertions from India pointing at involvement of militant outfits from Pakistan in the serial blasts of October in New Delhi.
The Saarc Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desk (STOMD) was established in Colombo to compare, analyse and disseminate information about terrorists, their tactics, strategies and methods. Efforts must be taken for further strengthening STOMD to banish terrorism in South Asia.
Terrorism is growing apace across the world. Many countries have had to witness the ugliest face of terrorism. The brutal killing of innocent people in New York, Madrid, Karachi, Mumbai, Colombo, Katmandu, Dhaka, Bali Island and London has revealed that terrorism is a common enemy to all human beings.
Present-day terrorism differs in nature and approach from the nineteenth century terrorism because earlier it was linked only with national struggle for independence and social justice. The terrorist activities are now being used and abused for fulfillment of ulterior motives by a few.
Terrorism is surely a major threat confronting all the South Asian countries. Tackling of terrorism without borders is no longer an event but a process, as these outfits have strong international links. The South Asian countries need to coordinate their counter-terrorism measures more intensively than before in order to ensure peaceful living for the people of this region.
A.N.M. Nurul Haque is a columnist of The Daily Star.
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