W O R L D

PM’s late arrival delays opening
Krishna calls for stamping out terror from S Asia
On the eve of the two-day SAARC summit beginning here on Wednesday, India identified terrorism as the most serious threat to economic stability and called upon SAARC countries.

Foreign Minister SM Krishna (right) talks to his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Thimphu . — AP/PTI

Bhutan Diary
Ah, to be in a city without traffic lights
Thimphu is the only capital city in the world without traffic lights. Located at an altitude of 7,500 feet above the sea level, and situated on the western slopes of the Wangchhu river, the Bhutanese capital has a population of just about 100,000.

PM’s late arrival delays opening
Krishna calls for stamping out terror from S Asia
Ashok Tuteja reports from Thimphu

On the eve of the two-day SAARC summit beginning here on Wednesday, India identified terrorism as the most serious threat to economic stability and called upon SAARC countries to speedily ratify regional instruments such as the convention on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters to fight the scourge.

“The South Asian region is afflicted by this (terrorism) menace. The time has come for us to rally against the forces of terrorism that seek to divide and weaken our societies,’’ External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said addressing the SAARC Council of Ministers’ meeting.

Since its inception in 1985, concerns over terrorism and the need for greater regional cooperation has prominently figured in the SAARC agenda but no concrete strategy has been evolved by member states so far to grapple with it.

Starting from the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism in Kathmandu in 1987, strong consensus existed among member states, but only on paper, for regional counter-terrorism cooperation.

A Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desk was established in 1995 in Colombo to support the implementation of the convention by “collecting, assessing and disseminating information on terrorist offences, tactics, strategies and methods”.

An Additional Protocol to the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism was signed in 2002 but it came into force on January 12, 2006, following ratification by all member states. Finally, a Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters was signed in August 2008 but is yet to come into force pending ratification by all members.

Despite various such initiatives, terrorism continues to be the biggest scourge that afflicts development in South Asia. An effective, common framework of action is fundamental to the process of countering terrorism.

An analysis of the current situation in South Asia, two decades after the signing of the first convention, shows that little has been achieved. There is no country in the region that has remained unscathed by terrorist attacks. Despite this, there has been little coordinated action, intelligence-sharing or any other form of meaningful cooperation. The region has become a battleground for international terrorism, led by the Al-Qaida. On top of it, India accuses Pakistan of promoting state-sponsored terrorism, through jehadi organisations like Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Inauguration delayed

Meanwhile, the IPL controversy and new allegations about the government tapping the phones of prominent leaders in India have delayed the arrival of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Bhutanese capital, thus forcing the Bhutan Government to reschedule the inauguration of the summit.

Manmohan Singh will be the last leader from the eight-member states to arrive in Thimpu, causing the inauguration to be put off to Wednesday afternoon instead of morning.

Consequently, Indian officials are frantically rescheduling the bilateral meetings of the Indian Prime Minister.

Bhutan Diary
Ah, to be in a city without traffic lights
By Ashok Tuteja

Thimphu is the only capital city in the world without traffic lights. Located at an altitude of 7,500 feet above the sea level, and situated on the western slopes of the Wangchhu river, the Bhutanese capital has a population of just about 100,000.

Sandwiched between India and China, Thimphu has never hosted an international event of the magnitude of the SAARC summit. Even a visit by a single foreign dignitary has always been a major event here. Now the combined presence of seven (eight including Bhutan) heads of state/government arriving in Thimphu for the SAARC summit is being considered a big challenge by the Bhutanese authorities and they are leaving no stone unturned to welcome visitors.

Thimphu has received a major facelift with gates, flags and banners planted all over the place. A massive clean-up campaign of the town and the riverbank has also been completed.

Not so popular with tourists

Bhutan used to be one of the most isolated countries in the world. Developments, including direct international flights, Internet, mobile phone networks and cable television have increasingly modernised the capital city, if not the country.

But while Bhutanese citizens are free to travel abroad, Bhutan is still viewed as inaccessible by many foreigners. There is a widespread misconception that Bhutan has set limits on tourist visas. Another reason for it being an unpopular tourist destination is the cost, which is high for budget tourists.

Entry is free for citizens of India and Bangladesh, but all other foreigners are required to sign up with a Bhutanese tour operator and pay around $ 200 for each day that they stay in this tiny Himalayan nation. A prohibitive price to pay for living in paradise known as the roof of the world.

PC to visit Islamabad

The twice postponed SAARC Interior Ministers meeting will now be held in June in Islamabad at which Home Minister P Chidambaram will represent India. Pakistan circulated the dates for the meeting here today. The exact dates would be announced after SAARC member countries reach a consensus, official sources said.

At this meeting SAARC Interior Ministers would discuss in detail the threat terrorism poses to South Asia, financing of terrorism, drug trafficking and implementation of the SAARC convention on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.

The meeting was first scheduled to be held in November last year but was postponed at Bangladesh?s request. It was rescheduled for February 26-28 but Nepal expressed its inability to attend it at the last minute.

The three-day conference would be tightly scheduled. Intelligence chiefs of SAARC countries would meet on the first day. On day two, there will be a meeting of the Home Secretaries. On the third and last day, the interior/home ministers of the SAARC countries would meet.