How India and 70 other countries will fight the ISIS

New Delhi, Oct 5: Indian Intelligence Bureau officials and several investigators have been engaged in discussions with various countries on how to combat the threat posed by the ISIS and a majority of the countries have suggested that there needs to be strict punishment to deter the youth from joining the outfit.

A recent interaction at Holland and one more at Turkey involved officials of the Intelligence Bureau and the National Investigation Agency in which steps to tackle the ISIS menace were discussed.

There are around 70 countries across the world which are affected by the ISIS today. Officials from all these countries have been meeting at various destinations and sharing ideas and intelligence about the ISIS.

Stronger punishment prescribed:
India has taken a different approach to the problem relating to the ISIS. Each case is studied individually and a decision whether to press charges of counsel is taken. Indian officials who attended the meet at Holland and Turkey informed OneIndia that majority of the nations are in favour of stringent punishment where crimes relating to the ISIS are concerned.

The officials we met with feel that only punishment can act as a deterrent. However in India there is a danger of radicalisation increasing if in all cases a harsh approach is taken. There is also the lurking danger of sectarian violence, the official added.

The approach taken by the West and India cannot be the same. Those who have been recruited from the West into the ISIS are hardened operatives and more lethal when compared to those from India. In India we will deal on a case to case basis, the official added while also stating that if the offence is major then there would be no second thought of press hard charges.

Enhanced cooperation:

The meet at Holland also discussed various other means on how to control the ISIS and its recruits. Methods of de-radicalisation, involvement of elders and NGOs and also an awareness campaign were some of the measures that were suggested on tackling the problem.

All nations affected by the ISIS threat were in agreement that there is a need for awareness. India quoted the example of a mass fatwa issued by the Muslim community in India and how the community needs to be engaged in tackling the problem.

There needs to be regular sermons in the places of worship where this issue needs to be discussed. The religious leaders must be called upon to play a larger part in controlling the problem and educating the youth about the real agenda of the ISIS.

In addition to this the officials also discussed the importance of intelligence sharing. Each of these nations pointed out that screening the internet is a major part of the operation.

The ISIS works on the web and hence each country needs to be a strong cyber team. More importantly real time intelligence needs to be shared. For this the countries have decided to draw up a data base and share it between each other on a regular basis, it was also decided.

OneIndia News