In the backdrop of a coup in Maldives, a high level meeting of sleuths from five South Asian nations, including India, Maldives and Sri Lanka, was held on Thursday here to discuss ways of consolidating anti-terror mechanism in the region.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Intelligence Bureau (IB) Director Nehchal Sandhu participated in the meeting. “Exchange of information among the member states on a real time basis for better coordination” to counter terrorism was discussed in the high-level meeting.

Besides Nepal and Bhutan, a delegation comprising anti-terror experts from the secretariat of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) also attended the two-day discussions.

The MHA said the meeting took up issues related to improving the functioning of SAARC Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desk (STOMD) and the SAARC Drug Offences Monitoring Desk (SDOMD) based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. This apart, the meeting of the sleuths reviewed “the enabling legislation” enacted by the member states on the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism and its Additional Protocol as well as the SAARC Convention on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.

The meeting also considered progress in the SAARC Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters. (Source: Deccan Herald)