Terrorism requires a global response
Thursday, 18 December 2008
M. A. Muid Khan
TERRORISM requires a global response. The recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai reinforced the world community's determination to combat terrorism.
Following the attack, the leaders from various parts of the world pledged "full support" to India in unearthing the plot behind the deadly terror strike. The US President George W. Bush told Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh that American agencies will "throw their weight" behind India's investigation into the Mumbai terror attacks and demonstrate a "shared commitment" to combat terrorism.
Sovereign nations have the right to protect themselves, US President-elect Barack Obama said, when asked if India could follow the same policy he advocated during his election campaign - of bombing terrorist camps in Pakistan if there was actionable evidence and Islamabad refused to act on it.
Australia sent a team of Federal Police to Mumbai, to study the terror attack and the modus operandi used by the terrorists. Britain sent 15 forensic experts of its intelligence services to Mumbai to help with the investigation. A Scotland Yard team is also investigating the terror attack. Israel offered a forty-strong team of special operation forces for the investigations. Malaysian authorities are investigating reports that Malaysian-issued credit cards were found in the belongings of the terrorists involved in the Mumbai attacks. Malaysia will also coordinate with Interpol over reports that some of the Mumbai attackers passed themselves off as Malaysian citizens. Pakistan, on its own, offered to do all it can and expressed solidarity with India.
The attack has put challenges for the Congress-led Indian government, ahead of general elections. It wants Pakistan to act against the terrorists. However, India should refrain itself from taking take any military action to bomb the suspected terrorist camps in Pakistan as such attack could push these two countries towards a disastrous nuclear war.
India needs to formulate a comprehensive action plan, in cooperation with the world community including Pakistan, in combating terrorism. Such action plan should include the followings:
India should, in cooperation with Pakistan, fight terrorism. A SAARC Action Plan should set out the SAARC's counter-terrorism in the region with agreed deadlines and measures.
The terrorist threat needs to be addressed in a comprehensive fashion.
The strategy would need tightening anti-money laundering rules to stop transactions linked to terrorist financing. It should require the money remittance businesses in India to be registered and tighten controls on money transfers.
A wide range of protective measures could protect critical infrastructures in India. In addition, India should work closely with the SAARC countries to develop a rapid alert capacity concerning threats to facilitate the exchange of information. This would enable Pakistan to share information in the interest of greater security for all of South Asian countries.
India must build a network of security against the network of terror with the rest of the world including Pakistan. Such a network of security would require the involvement of all the relevant actors in order to achieve operational cooperation in all fields of common concern. The network could bring together the Asian, African, American, European Union (EU) member states as well as the EU's partners.
Pakistan should also provide its total cooperation in finding those, if any hiding in its territory, responsible for the attacks on Mumbai. Direct and tougher action should be taken by Islamabad, even if the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks were "non-state actors". Pakistan should have firm commitment to stand in solidarity with the people of India as we all work together to hold these extremists accountable because terrorism threatens Pakistan as much as India.
Pakistan also needs to disarm or eliminate all sectarian, religio-political and ethnic terrorist groups, regardless of whether they are local or foreign. All law-enforcement efforts need to be dedicated to the anti-terrorist effort. That means dropping the distinction between "foreign fighters" such as those from al Qaeda, whom Islamabad has been pursuing with some vigour while ignoring the homegrown terrorists who were originally trained to fight India in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir.
The global world community must provide full cooperation to any country including India in fighting terrorism to reinforce the support for the UN framework of conventions, resolutions and instruments which set the international norms for counter terrorist action. The world community must support the third world countries which lack the capacity to effectively fight terrorism. The successful fight against terrorism requires commitment and concrete action. Only through joint efforts, the world community can expect success in eradicating the scourge of terrorism.
The writer is working as a Legal Consultant at Carr-Gomm and Appeal Consultant at a London Law firm. Also an advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, he can be contacted at
barristermuid@yahoo.co.uk
TERRORISM requires a global response. The recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai reinforced the world community's determination to combat terrorism.
Following the attack, the leaders from various parts of the world pledged "full support" to India in unearthing the plot behind the deadly terror strike. The US President George W. Bush told Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh that American agencies will "throw their weight" behind India's investigation into the Mumbai terror attacks and demonstrate a "shared commitment" to combat terrorism.
Sovereign nations have the right to protect themselves, US President-elect Barack Obama said, when asked if India could follow the same policy he advocated during his election campaign - of bombing terrorist camps in Pakistan if there was actionable evidence and Islamabad refused to act on it.
Australia sent a team of Federal Police to Mumbai, to study the terror attack and the modus operandi used by the terrorists. Britain sent 15 forensic experts of its intelligence services to Mumbai to help with the investigation. A Scotland Yard team is also investigating the terror attack. Israel offered a forty-strong team of special operation forces for the investigations. Malaysian authorities are investigating reports that Malaysian-issued credit cards were found in the belongings of the terrorists involved in the Mumbai attacks. Malaysia will also coordinate with Interpol over reports that some of the Mumbai attackers passed themselves off as Malaysian citizens. Pakistan, on its own, offered to do all it can and expressed solidarity with India.
The attack has put challenges for the Congress-led Indian government, ahead of general elections. It wants Pakistan to act against the terrorists. However, India should refrain itself from taking take any military action to bomb the suspected terrorist camps in Pakistan as such attack could push these two countries towards a disastrous nuclear war.
India needs to formulate a comprehensive action plan, in cooperation with the world community including Pakistan, in combating terrorism. Such action plan should include the followings:
India should, in cooperation with Pakistan, fight terrorism. A SAARC Action Plan should set out the SAARC's counter-terrorism in the region with agreed deadlines and measures.
The terrorist threat needs to be addressed in a comprehensive fashion.
The strategy would need tightening anti-money laundering rules to stop transactions linked to terrorist financing. It should require the money remittance businesses in India to be registered and tighten controls on money transfers.
A wide range of protective measures could protect critical infrastructures in India. In addition, India should work closely with the SAARC countries to develop a rapid alert capacity concerning threats to facilitate the exchange of information. This would enable Pakistan to share information in the interest of greater security for all of South Asian countries.
India must build a network of security against the network of terror with the rest of the world including Pakistan. Such a network of security would require the involvement of all the relevant actors in order to achieve operational cooperation in all fields of common concern. The network could bring together the Asian, African, American, European Union (EU) member states as well as the EU's partners.
Pakistan should also provide its total cooperation in finding those, if any hiding in its territory, responsible for the attacks on Mumbai. Direct and tougher action should be taken by Islamabad, even if the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks were "non-state actors". Pakistan should have firm commitment to stand in solidarity with the people of India as we all work together to hold these extremists accountable because terrorism threatens Pakistan as much as India.
Pakistan also needs to disarm or eliminate all sectarian, religio-political and ethnic terrorist groups, regardless of whether they are local or foreign. All law-enforcement efforts need to be dedicated to the anti-terrorist effort. That means dropping the distinction between "foreign fighters" such as those from al Qaeda, whom Islamabad has been pursuing with some vigour while ignoring the homegrown terrorists who were originally trained to fight India in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir.
The global world community must provide full cooperation to any country including India in fighting terrorism to reinforce the support for the UN framework of conventions, resolutions and instruments which set the international norms for counter terrorist action. The world community must support the third world countries which lack the capacity to effectively fight terrorism. The successful fight against terrorism requires commitment and concrete action. Only through joint efforts, the world community can expect success in eradicating the scourge of terrorism.
The writer is working as a Legal Consultant at Carr-Gomm and Appeal Consultant at a London Law firm. Also an advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, he can be contacted at
barristermuid@yahoo.co.uk