Naxalites in India, Nepal Maoists on US terror list

Describing India as an ‘‘important partner’’ in its war against terror, the US today went beyond expressing its distaste...

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Describing India as an ‘‘important partner’’ in its war against terror, the US today went beyond expressing its distaste for continuing terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir by naming two groups in India which have links with Maoists in Nepal and another two groups once active in Punjab.

In its annual report — issued by the US State Department, it’s called ‘‘Patterns of Global Terrorism’’ — two Naxalite groups, the People’s War Group (PWG) and Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI), have been indicted and placed in a category called ‘‘Other Terrorist Groups.’’

The Babbar Khalsa International and International Sikh Youth Federation of India (SYFI) have been added to the Terrorist Exclusion List which disallows members of these organisations from travelling to the US and if found there, liable to be deported from that country.

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But it’s the banning of the PWG and the MCCI that are significant because the US has simultaneously also put on its Terrorist Exclusion List the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists).

Also known under aliases such as the United Revolutionary People’s Council and the People’s Liberation Army of Nepal, the stringent action against the Maoist insurgents in Nepal indicates that Washington and New Delhi have worked in cohesion to create an alliance against the Maoist threat in the region.

‘‘The Maoist insurgency poses a continuing threat to US citizens and property in Nepal. Repeated anti-US rhetoric and actions suggest the Maoists view US support for Kathmandu as a key obstacle to their goal of establishing a doctrinaire communist dictatorship,’’ the US report said.

Significantly, New Delhi believes that the PWG, active in various parts of Telangana and behind an attempt to assassinate Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, has close links with the Maoists.

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Similarly, the MCCI in Bihar and the Nepalese insurgents share many things, including information, intelligence, training and safe havens. Both India and the US have been extremely wary about the continuing Maoist insurgency in Nepal and have treated it as ‘‘terrorism,’’ in contrast to the human rights-based approach of otehr Western nations like the European Union.

Analysts pointed out that even though India and the US differ in their approaches on Pakistan, they seem to have found common ground in identifying the sources of terror in Nepal.

The State Department also continued to keep the following terrorist groups active in Jammu and Kashmir on its terror list: Al-Badhr Mujahideen, Harkat-ul-Jihad-I-Islami (HUJI), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen (JUM). Nevertheless, the US report also glowingly wrote about Pakistan as a ‘‘remaining a key partner in the war on terror (which) continued its close cooperation with the United States in law enforcement, border security, and counter-terrorism training.’’

‘‘Pakistan continues to be one of the United States’ most important partners in the global coalition against terrorism. President Musharraf has himself been the target of terrorist violence, narrowly escaping two assassination attemps in late 2003. US assistance supported Pakistan’s efforts to establish a government presence along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and eliminate terrorist safe havens,’’ it said.

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‘‘Pakistan’s military, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies are cooperating closely with the US and other nations to identify, interdict, and eliminate terrorism both within Pakistan and abroad,’’ the report added. In contrast, the Maoists in Nepal abrogated an eight-month ceasefire and resumed their campaign of armed attacks, bombings, assassination and extortion against the Government and citizens of Nepal.