Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday arrived in Islamabad to attend the SAARC Interior Ministers' conference being held tomorrow during which he is expected to raise the issue of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, designated as global terrorist, and cross border terrorism.
Singh, who arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday evening on his maiden visit to Pakistan, has been accorded tight security amid threats from Lashker-e-Tayiba and Hizbul Mujahideen terror groups against his visit.
The home minister was flown in a helicopter to the Serena hotel located in posh Islamabad locality. It is also the venue of Thursday's meeting where Singh will be underlining the need for meaningful cooperation among South Asian countries.
Roads leading to the hotel have been heavily barricaded by the police and para-military forces to ward off any threat from terror groups. In the past, there have been instances when terrorists rammed explosive-laden trucks into the hotels.
Despite tight security, around 100 people gathered outside the hotel shouting anti-India slogans and protested against Singh's visit.
LeT founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen Chief Syed Salahuddin had warned of a nationwide protest if Singh arrives in Islamabad to attend the SAARC ministerial conference which would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Before leaving for Islamabad to attend the day-long SAARC Home Ministers' Conference, Singh said he was "looking forward to underscore the imperative of meaningful cooperation within the region against terrorism and organised crime."
"This conference provides a platform to discuss issues pertaining to security," said Singh, who is expected to tell Pakistan to stop sponsoring terror in India and rein in groups like Lashker-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
India has been demanding handing over of Dawood, who has been designated as a global terrorist by the anti-terror body of the United Nations, for running an organised crime syndicate from Pakistan.
Thursday's meeting is preceded by the 7th Meeting of the SAARC Interior/Home Secretaries which was held on Wednesday. Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, who is leading the Indian delegation, arrived on Tuesday.
There is little possibility of Singh having a bilateral meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in the wake of strain in Indo-Pak relations after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani in Jammu and Kashmir on July 8.
Not only did Prime Minister Sharif praise Wani but he also remarked that "Kashmir will one day become Pakistan", a comment which evoked a sharp reaction from External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who said his dream of the state becoming a part of his country "will not be realised even at the end of eternity". MORE PTI ACB SKL ZH AKJOn the eve of the conference, Sharif said that Kashmir was witnessing a "new wave of freedom movement" and asked Pakistani diplomats to apprise the world that Kashmir was "not an internal matter" of India.
"Today Kashmir is witnessing a new wave of freedom movement," Sharif said, needling India.
Apart from terrorism, other key issues to be discussed include liberalisation of visa, illegal trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and small arms and how to make coordinated and concerted efforts to combat such menace.
The three-tier meeting began at the joint secretary-level and then moves on to Secretary and Home Minister-level meetings.
The focus of the meeting will also be on strengthening networking among police forces of SAARC member-countries and also enhance information-sharing among law enforcement agencies.Ahead of the conference, the Interior Secretaries from the member states met Islamabad today to review the progress made so far on agreed areas of cooperation and to finalise recommendations and proposals suggesting way forward for further strengthening of mutual cooperation through sharing of knowledge, experiences and expertise to overcome challenges facing the region.
These suggestions would be placed before the Interior Ministers for their consideration and decisions.
As per the SAARC practice, the meeting elected Interior Secretary of Pakistan Arif Ahmed Khan as the chairman of the 7th meeting of SAARC Interior Secretaries.
Khan said that it was a matter of pride that the SAARC countries represent a region that shares common borders and cultural similarities.
The secretary said that we are not only tied by geographical proximities but also with historical linkages.
"Our shared challenges demand collective response and SAARC provides the member states an exceptional platform to share and benefit from the wisdom and experience of each other," he said.
The Interior Secretary observed that the mandate of the SAARC Interior/Home Secretaries meeting covers a range of important issues related to terrorism, corruption, narcotics and psychotropic substances, maritime piracy and other similar issues.
He said that the meeting will also be discussing the Conventions on Suppression of Terrorism and the Additional Protocol and Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.
Stressing upon the need for greater cooperation the Interior Secretary noted that although significant progress has been made in the related areas since the 6th Meeting of the SAARC Interior/Home Secretaries that was held in September 2014 in Kathmandu, a sizeable amount of work is still to be done by this forum.
He expressed the hope that result oriented recommendations of Interior Secretaries would help Interior/Home Ministers of the SAARC countries to take decisions in the greater interest of the region and the people of the member states.
The Secretary also commended the Immigration Authorities from the SAARC Member States for their valuable input and said that their recommendations will add an impetus to the ongoing process of forging greater cooperation among the SAARC member states.
