New Delhi wants extradition treaty

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI; Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram and other high-ranking officials called on the visiting Nepali President in the Indian capital today.

Minister Chidambaram, who called on President Dr Ram Baran Yadav at the ITC Maurya hotel, informed about the President of India’s desire to sign an extradition treaty –– agreed at the bureaucratic level in 2005 –– along with a mutual legal assistance treaty with Nepal, according to Nepali Foreign Secretary Dr Madan Kumar Bhattarai.

“The minister spoke of the need of the treaty, but there was no pressure from him,” Dr Bhattarai said. He said the Indian government wanted Nepal to sign the treaty only when there was ‘enough comfort level’ on the issue.

Retired army general Ashok Mehta, who follows Indo-Nepal issues closely, told this daily the extradition treaty with Nepal has become crucial for India as Nepal has the potential of becoming a sanctuary for anti-India elements.

According to him, Indian law enforcement agencies apprehended 86 suspected terrorists, who had sneaked into India either from Bangladesh or Nepal in 2010.

Mehta said a crackdown on such ‘elements’ in Bangladesh meant Nepal could become a sanctuary for international terrorists, including LeT and Al Queda.

Mehta said experience from Bhutan –– used as a sanctuary by ULFA and Bodo separatists in the past –– showed such elements were equally lethal to the host country. Therefore, an extradition treaty would be beneficial for both the countries.

“There is already an insurgency problem in the Tarai. If the criminals and terrorists find safe haven in Nepal, they might even collude with local anti-social elements,” Mehta added.

Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who came to Delhi to meet President Yadav, said he discussed the need for a joint effort to control floods in Bihar and Nepal with the president. The President also held consultations on bilateral issues with Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Defence Minister AK Antony and BJP leader Arjun Jaitley during the day.