DNA : LTTE, with an ISI mark

LTTE, with an ISI mark

DNA Editorial | December 13, 2006

As the proverb goes, your enemy’s enemy is your friend. Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Sri Lanka’s Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), both of which don’t see India as a friend, have now reportedly joined hands to target the coastal zone in Gujarat.

This bourgeoning co-operation among forces inimical to Indian interests is not a new development. The Nepali Maoists are reported to have had links with Indian Maoist extremists, and following the disarming of the former, there are fears that the weapons may find their way to the latter.

The ISI, of course, is an old hand at the art of making such tie-ups with all kinds of extremist and terrorist groups in the neighbourhood. Many cross-border terrorist outfits which operate out of Pakistani territory are said to have been trained and funded by the organisation. An arrangement with the LTTE is of immense mutual value. The Tigers provide the expertise in maritime operations, while the ISI has funds and arms at its disposal.

These funds are critical at a time the LTTE is engaged in a war with the Sri Lankan defence forces. Further, after the US and several other countries banned it as an international terrorist group, one of its primary sources of funds — Tamil supporters settled in western countries — has dried up.

For the ISI, the sensitive Gujarat coast — which forms one-third of India’s coastline and has been a hive of commercial activity of late following the rise in investment in the state — is a soft target.

Reports indicate that several ports in the Jamnagar area, such as Sika and Salaya are being targeted. There are also plans to smuggle arms through the difficult terrain to sleeper cells of militant organisations in the state. Besides several ports and gigantic petrochemical complexes, the coastal zone also has some strategic interests that are vulnerable to terrorist activity.

But the real target, of course, would be the state’s rapid pace of economic development. A few calculated strikes could make the state an unsafe destination for investment, which fits in with the emergent terrorist policy of undermining India’s economic development.

All of which calls for newer thinking on strategies to tackle terrorism. In a vast country like India, there will always be open and easy targets, but areas such as the coast of Gujarat require more surveillance and patrolling to tackle this double menace.