NEW DELHI, 23 March 2006 — Federal investigating agencies of India and Pakistan have decided to set up a joint study group for greater cooperation in tackling human trafficking, counterfeit currency and illegal immigration, sources said yesterday.
The decision was made when India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) met here after a gap of almost 17 years for two days of discussions.
While Indian side was led by the CBI director, Vijay Shanker, the Pakistani team was headed by Tariq Parvez, head of the FIA. The talks ended yesterday.
“We look forward to increasing cooperation … in law enforcement and in ensuring criminals of (the) two countries do not have any respite from the two agencies,” said Vijay Shankar while addressing a news conference yesterday.
It was yet another instance of confidence-building between the countries since the thaw began in their frosty relationship two years ago.
Officials say human trafficking and the smuggling of goods, narcotics and counterfeit currency routinely takes place along the India-Pakistan border.
According to a joint statement, the two sides also decided to designate officers for better cooperation between the CBI and FIA.
“These officers would be posted in Islamabad and New Delhi and steps would be taken for expeditious disposal of pending Interpol references,” the statement said.
“The talks were constructive and carried out in a professional manner between the two sides,” Vijay Shanker said.
CBI officials said the issue of coordinating police work along the border and setting up a South Asian police agency, along the lines of Europe’s Europol that fights trans-border crime, was still at a “conceptual stage.”
“When we meet the next time, we can possibly take this idea forward and see if it can be implemented properly,” said a senior CBI official.
It was visualized that the agency called SAARCPOL would fight crime in the member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) that groups India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives.
The CBI chief sidestepped a question on the deportation of the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts accused Dawood Ibrahim, who is widely believed to be in Pakistan, and said the two sides had discussed all matters of crime and criminals.
“Since this was the first meeting after so many years we did not want to get on controversial issues. But it was agreed that we will have commonality in this approach,” said a CBI official.
India had earlier given Pakistan a list of 22 most wanted criminals and terrorists that it believes are hiding in that country.
Officials said the two agencies are exploring possible avenues of professional training and sharing experiences in various aspects of criminal investigation. Besides, the two sides decided to hold meetings at short intervals.
The four-member Pakistan delegation invited Vijay Shanker and his team to the neighboring country.
“We will visit Pakistan sometime by the end of this year,” said the CBI chief. — Additional input from IANS.
