Since the end of the Second World War the Belgian capital of Brussels has been the pulsating heart of Europe. It is the seat of the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Benelux. This makes the city truly cosmopolitan, a polyglot home of thousands of French, Moroccans, Turks and Congolese. It also houses one of the largest Muslim communities in Western Europe: of the million inhabitants of Brussels, at least a fourth are Muslims. Most of them are tax-paying, law-abiding citizens. But with Western Europe struggling to come to terms with a sudden influx of migrants from the Middle East, most of them Muslims, many Belgian Muslims have been radicalized in recent times. They don't understand how the progenitors of the Enlightenment can go back on their own principles by refusing to take in the desperate refugees who have nowhere to go. Even though they migrated to Belgium long ago, they don't feel a part of the society. They get all the shitty jobs (or none at all). They can't properly communicate since they don't know how to speak in Dutch, French or German, the three official languages. They feel like outsiders.This is why Brussels has become the epicenter of terrorism in Western Europe. Nearly all the major terror attacks in Europe in recent times can be traced back to Brussels, including the 2015 terror attacks in Paris, France that killed 130 people. It is easy to buy firearms in the Belgian capital and its light security footprint means that not many police officials will come nosing around should you be involved in something fishy. Now in their latest terror attack, the terrorists have struck Brussels itself, killing at least 31 people and injuring over 300. The Syria-based terrorist outfit, ISIS, has taken responsibility for the March 22nd bombings. The whole world is at an alert. South Asia is, of course, no stranger to terrorism. The countries in the region (bar Bhutan and the Maldives) have had to battle one or the other form of terrorism in recent times. Afghanistan is barely a functional state; the same with Pakistan. Journalists are killed with impunity in Bangladesh. Sri Lanka only recently ended its long war against LTTE. Every year India witnesses at least a dozen terrorist attacks. Nepal, for its part, also saw various terrorist groups spring up in the Tarai belt after the 2006 changes.
Having recently promulgated a constitution that has been hotly contested, there is likely to be some level of political instability in Nepal for years to come. Terrorist outfits will no doubt try to take advantage of this state of flux. India continues to be troubled at the prospect of cross-border infiltration of terrorists through its open border with Nepal. Nepali authorities, meanwhile, fret how it is easy for criminals to commit crimes this side of the border and then to run away to their safe abodes in India. It was to stop this kind of cross-border terrorism that the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism came into force in 1988. But the framework remains dysfunctional nearly two decades after its promulgation. Disagreements between India and Pakistan continue to impede any efforts at developing a common anti-terror stand in the region. As Europe is finding out, individual countries on their own are helpless against terrorists who are adept at hopping borders. There must be a high level of coordination between security agencies of SAARC countries to make South Asia secure against terrorism. The signs so far are not encouraging. Most SAARC states continue to be consumed by domestic concerns; their leaders seemingly have neither the time nor the vision to take in the big picture.
Related story
Gaza civil defense says Israeli attacks kill 26 near two aid ce...
