SAARC security experts to discuss anti-terrorism mechanism

However, the meeting will not be attended by Director General of Intelligence Bureau of Pakistan Aftab Sultan, amid the ongoing hostility between India and Pakistan over terror attack in Uri.

It is being hosted by Director of Intelligence Bureau Dineshwar Sharma and intelligence chiefs of all other SAARC nations — Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives besides India — will participate.

The meeting is in line with the high priority India attaches for regional cooperation in anti-terrorism activities and given that terrorism remains the single biggest threat to peace, stability and progress in the region and beyond.

The meeting provides a platform for discussing and identifying measures to tackle this menace threatening our societies.

The meeting will review the functioning of the existing anti-terrorism mechanisms in the region including the SAARC Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desk (STOMD) and the SAARC Drug Offences Monitoring Desk (SDOMD), intelligence sharing and police cooperation.

It will also discuss related issues such as combating corruption, cyber crimes, terror financing and money laundering. The high-level meeting is expected to draw recommendations to strengthen the existing mechanisms and discuss potential new areas of cooperation.