Shifting World Order: Indo Gulf Counter-terrorism Partnership
In 2007 the then Saudi Ambassador to India visited Srinagar, the summer
capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The separatist leadership
largely operating in three groups, one Hurriyat Conference (G) led by the
late Syed Ali Shah Geelani, former Amir of the Jamaat e Islami, second,
another Hurriyat Conference (M) led by the Mirwaiz Umar Farooq,
custodian of the Srinagar Jamia Masjid and the third, led by Yaseen Malik
of the nearly defunct Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front went to meet him in
turns. The Ambassador from whom the separatist leaders had great
expectations was quick to scuttle their hopes, by reminding them that
their future lay with India.
This was a moment of diplomatic clarity; it came in the backdrop of King
Abdullah’s visit to India in 2006 when the ‘The Delhi Declaration’ was
signed. The declaration provided focus on cooperation on counter-terrorism. Prime minister Modi during his visits in 2016 and 2019
reiterated this position. This cooperation emerged despite Pakistan, who
with its ‘Islamic bomb’ and ‘Islamic Military Counter-terrorism Coalition’
not only positions itself as the security provider of the Gulf countries and
also provides personal security to the Saudi royal family.
Similar understanding was reached with UAE, when President Sheikh Al
Nahyan visited India in 2024. The commitment to fight violent extremism,
cross-border terrorism and terror financing was reiterated.
India has reached similar arrangements with Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and
Kuwait. The cooperation with Saudi Arabia and the UAE has been the most
effective. The agreement between the Presidency of State Security and
India’s Research and Analysis Wing has yielded rich dividends, the free
movement of terrorists to Saudi has come to a stop. Indian national
Zabiuddin Ansari @ Abu Jandal, travelling on a Pakistani passport, was
extradited in 2012. He was involved in facilitating the terrorists who
carried out the Mumbai attacks in 2008.
Dubai no more remains a haven for Indian fugitives. Deportations and
effective intelligence on finance has helped to curb many of the terror
activities there. In 2017, Afsha Jabeen @ Nicky Joseph was deported from
UAE, accused of online recruiting for the Islamic State.
With Bahrain, during PM Modi’s visit, cooperation in cyber security,
prevention of use of cyber space for terrorism and radicalization was
discussed.
MoU between India’s Financial Intelligence Unit and Kuwait’s National
Center for Financial Information on intelligence exchange related to
