HEADLINE NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

Meet of SAARC heads of police
Nepal to propose SAARCPOL

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug. 26: Nepal will propose establishing a regional police organisation - SAARCPOL - at the SAARC Heads of Police Conference to be held in Kathmandu from Wednesday. Eighteen Police heads and their subordinates from the seven SAARC nations will take part in the two-day (August 28-29) conference.

"The proposed SAARCPOL, if it comes into being, will work as a regional police organisation of South Asia's seven member nations. It will function like the EUROPOL and the ASAEANPOL," said Inspector General of Police Pradeep Shumsher JB Rana at a press conference at the Police Headquarters this afternoon.

"Its structure and job responsibility will be discussed and ratified by the SAARC standing committee and SAARC summit. It will only look into crimes just like the INTERPOL. It cannot, however, talk or raise bilateral issues," Rana said.

Rana, who will chair the conference, said that the regional police organisation's concept would be proposed as per the request made by the INTERPOL. The 179-member INTERPOL has requested all the regional bodies to form their own regional police organisations. Its initiative to form regional police organisations has helped the EUROPOL and ASEANPOL to take shape.

"Apart from discussing the formation of the proposed regional police group, exchanging of information about criminal investigation and crime control in South Asia by forging better relations and understanding among the police organisations of the SAARC member states is the other objective of the conference."

The meeting of the 18 police representatives of the SAARC will hold discussions to seek regional cooperation in chalking out a common solution to terrorism, drugs and narcotics peddaling and trafficking of women and children for prostitution and other organsied crimes. These are the pressing regional problems afflicting the SAARC nations.

For monitoring regional terrorism and trafficking of drugs, two SAARC level desks - SAARC Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desk (STOMD) and SAARC Drug Offences Monitoring Desk (SDOMD) - have already been established in Colombo.

"During the conference, analysis and progress made in implementing the recommendations made by the last three meetings of regional heads of police will also be discussed. The conference will make recommendations to the SAARC Standing Committee to chart out a future strategy."

All member states will appoint contact officers to exchange information on organised crime and activities related to drugs and narcotics trafficking. Besides, special emphasis will be put on exchanging expertise and training for police professionals of the member nations.

The meeting will be attended by Additional IGP M. Rafiqul Alam Khan and Assistant IGP Hassan Mahmood Khandeker (both from Bangladesh), and Colonel Wangdi Tshering, Lt. Colonel Kipcha Namagyel and Major Chimi Dorji, all from Bhutan.

Also taking part in the conference are DG, IB K.P. Singh IPS; DGP D.C. Bajpayee, IPS; DGP R.R. Prasad, IPS (India); Major Ibrahim Lateef (Maldives); IGP Pradeep Shumsher JB Rana, AIGP Anant Ram Bhattarai, AIGP Govinda Prasad Thapa, SSP Chuda Bahadur Thapa and SP Kuber Rana (Nepal); IGP Muhammad Akram and Charge d' Affaires Muhammad Saeed Khan (Pakistan); DIGP Chandra Fernando, SP Ashoka Galgarnawa and ASP Sunil Maligaspe (Sri Lanka).

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