The drug war
It is a matter of great comfort that the Dubai Customs has never eased its stranglehold on those who try to move illegal narcotics through the country or into it. The very fact that over 800 bids to smuggle narcotics were thwarted and several carriers brought to book is worthy of mention.
The training given to the crack squads that monitor intelligence on this menace and ensure that the emirate is drug free is exemplary. One must congratulate the Director-General Dubai Customs Ahmed Butti and his team on doing a great job. It is because of their ability to psychologically and scientifically assess potential criminals that they have this high
success rate.
But that said, since drug movements are a sophisticated business with no rules and no emotions, the top cadre have begun to use technology and adopt more sophisticated ways of moving their hauls. And since narcotics recognise no boundaries and underground markets abound in which the profit margins are massive, greed and stupidity will always combine to discover someone who will be willing to take the risk. Even though they know it is foolish to try and smuggle a package through Dubai, they will try it. This is why one of the reasons that the war on drugs has global support is that the specialists understand that they can slow the traffic, stem the flow but not stop it. For them it is all about chasing down the weakest links and that can only be sustained if the exchange of information is ongoing, without reservation and shared
in real time.
As the druglords seek new markets and target the rich and the young, their two main end-users, the need to crackdown hard has to be universal. So long as it is done in pockets while others are casual and easygoing about it, the international trail can always navigate the high security areas and re-route themselves. This is why a zero tolerance approach must be mandated because otherwise it makes the job of those who seriously want to eliminate the scourge that much more difficult
Side by side with the constant vigilance at entry points it is also necessary to de-romanticise the use of drugs and show it for what it is…a killer. Media has a role in this and there is no such thing as recreational drugs. That is a message that has to be pounded to the public.
India, Pakistan: Getting real
Harmony between India and Pakistan is the benchmark for peace and tranquility. This is why the recently concluded secretary level talks that hinted at furthering the process to normalise their bilateral relations are widely seen a breakthrough of sorts.
The very fact that senior diplomats got down to paraphrase the political will of their respective leaders is an achievement, indeed, and goes on to prove that the process of sustained negotiations is the only way out to address unresolved intrigues in the region. Apart from their bag-pack of irritants that include terrorism, Kashmir, Siachen and nuclear woes, the readiness in Delhi and Islamabad to comprehensively exploit the potential of human resource by softening trade and travel issues is a welcome development.
Considerable good time has already been lost with both the countries indulging in an Ostrich syndrome, and refusing to resynchronise their relationship in the spheres of commerce, intellectualism and tourism. The sequence of Composite Dialogue has proved to be more of an academic exercise, than one meant for streamlining the thick and thin of interaction between the 1.5 billion people of the region. Visa restrictions, taxation puzzles and an unending trade impasse has come to irk whatever hopes the people had in the process of talks. Similarly, a host of confidence building measures that largely reflected the versatility of pluralistic thoughts are yet to see the light of the day. Institutional collaboration and that too in the fields of media, finances and telecommunications possesses immense potential, but have not been explored for reasons best known to the authorities concerned. The foreign ministers, who are scheduled to meet in New Delhi, could just further the envelope with their personal fondness of belief that stalemate and hobnobbing should graduate into a formal relationship free from coercion
and compromises.
Both the nuclear-powered countries should keep in view that a lot has changed since they started talking. Especially in the post Osama bin Laden era, there is little that could be set aside by terming it as bilateral in context. The terror nexus that engulfs the entire region is a challenge, and cannot be brushed aside as the responsibility of any one party. A holistic approach is the need of the hour, and the common enemy can only be defeated if India, Pakistan and the regional conglomerate join to deepen their trust and relationship. Meeting for photo-ops hasn’t delivered to this day. It’s time to seize the moment
and get decisive.
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