Delhi Round of Indo-Pak Talks - V Terrorism and Drug Trafficking by D Suba Chandran

The most contentious of the six issues on which the recently concluded Indo-Pak talks focussed was terrorism. Of the two inter-linked issues – Terrorism and Drug Trafficking, had India and Pakistan differed more on the question of terrorism.

Terrorism:

India

's proposals on terrorism:

India

accused

Pakistan

of relentlessly pursuing State sponsored terrorism to destabilise

India

, using terrorism as an instrument of state policy against

India

In the talks

India

handed over a list of training camps in

Pakistan

and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK).

India

also gave a list of top ranking terrorists, drug lords and fugitives such as Dawood Ibrahim, Abdul Razak Memon, Mohammad Dosa etc, who are being sheltered by

Pakistan

India

also presented a four point proposal.

· Abandon state sponsorship of terrorism against

India

. Dismantle the terrorist camps for indoctrinating, recruiting, training, arming, financing and infiltrating militants.

· Close down the 30 or more training camps for training terrorists in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir

· Deny the use of Pakistani territory and other facilities to militant organisations and fundamentalists propagating religious violence, training militants and raising funds for jihad

· Hand over the 32 terrorists and underworld operators of Indian origin currently living in

Pakistan

India

also handed over a document containing evidence of

Pakistan

's involvement in sponsoring terrorism in

India

Pakistan

refuted all these charges and told

India

they had only extended moral, political and diplomatic support to the "freedom fighters" in Kashmir.Pakistan accused

India

of abetting terrorism in

Pakistan

especially in the province of Sindh .

Pakistan

's proposals:

While rejecting

India

's accusations and proposals,

Pakistan

proposed third party observation of terrorism in the region, especially in Kashmir .

Pakistan

suggested the involvement of either the United Nations Military Observers Group for

India

and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) or any other neutral force to verify

India

's allegations.

Pakistan

also challenged

India

to choose either arbitration or mediation.India rejected

Pakistan

's proposal for a third party to observe the sponsorship of terrorism by

Pakistan

What are the motives underlying these proposals and their rejection? They were obvious and expected. What is significant is

Pakistan

's proposal challenging

India

to prove its charge via a neutral party.

Pakistan

knew that

India

would reject any such proposal. By making

India

reject a proposal that would be seen by the outside world as rational,

Pakistan

may, score a debating point over

India

. Then, why did

India

reject this proposal?

India

's rejection stems from fears that once it agrees to any third Party mediation or even observation, this would increase external pressures upon it to solve the Kashmir issue by a similar modality. Hence,

India

would reject any proposal involving a third party, even if such an action would favour

India

against

Pakistan

In the event,

India

and

Pakistan

failed to reach any agreement on the terrorism issue.

Drug Trafficking:

Whereas

Pakistan

is being used for both cultivating and trafficking illegal opium

India

is only being used as a transit route. The problems posed by drug trafficking covers a wide range of areas that affect the security of the state. Drug trafficking not only results in drug abuse, but also increases the proliferation of arms, crime, money laundering and terrorism in society. Both

India

and

Pakistan

are affected by this menace. In 1997 the amount of heroin that was seized along the India Pakistan border alone was 640 kg, which reveals the seriousness of the problem.

India

and

Pakistan

during the talks agreed the following on drug trafficking:

· Setting up a mechanism for regular meetings and exchange of operational information between the Federal Bureau of Investigation in

Pakistan

and Central Bureau of Investigation in

India

to combat crimes such as drug trafficking;

· Strengthening bilateral cooperation between the Narcotics Control Board (NCB) of

India

and Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) of

Pakistan

to combat drug trafficking

Finally, despite basic differences, both countries agreed to continue their discussions during the next round of talks. This seem to be the only positive outcome of the recently concluded talks between

India

and

Pakistan

on these issues.


The Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) is the premier South Asian think tank which conducts independent research on and provides an in depth analysis of conventional and non-conventional issues related to national and South Asian security including nuclear issues, disarmament, non-proliferation, weapons of mass destruction, the war on terrorism, counter terrorism , strategies security sector reforms, and armed conflict and peace processes in the region. For those in South Asia and elsewhere, the IPCS website provides a comprehensive analysis of the happenings within India with a special focus on Jammu and Kashmir and Naxalite Violence. Our research promotes greater understanding of India's foreign policy especially India-China relations, India's relations with SAARC countries and South East Asia. Through close interaction with leading strategic thinkers, former members of the Indian Administrative Service, the Foreign Service and the three wings of the Armed Forces - the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force, - the academic community as well as the media, the IPCS has contributed considerably to the strategic discourse in India.

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