Officials in the security establishment say that the two-day long summit, presents the “most complex” security scenario they have faced in their careers.
NEW DELHI: An array of security fears have emerged in the Capital on the eve of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, as the city turned into a fortress to protect the heads of eight states and numerous other dignitaries.
Officials in the security establishment say that the two-day long SAARC summit starting on Tuesday, presents the “most complex” security scenario they have faced in their careers. “It is a spectrum of threats,” says an intelligence official involved in the summit security.
On the one end of the spectrum are the fears of some extremists among those protesting in the plains of Nepal, including the members of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, trying to grab attention at such an important summit to highlight their demand. On the other hand, threats from a resurgent Al Qaeda and a desperate LTTE can not be ignored.
“A flood of them,” said another official when asked how many intelligence inputs and analysis they have of possible security threats to the summit of the South Asian leaders. Among those who have direct security threats include Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, presidents of Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, Hamid Karzai and Mahindra Rajapakse, Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, chief advisor to Bangladesh caretaker government Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed, Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and others.
Many inputs warn that terrorist groups could target the summit itself, officials said. In fact the threat to Dr Ahmed is “very high”, given the strong action initiated by his government against Islamic radicals in recent days, officials said.
Besides, there are also concerns for the security of the senior representatives of China, Japan, Korea, the United States, and the European Union who are coming in as observers. The Intelligence Bureau and the RAW have brought to the Capital several of their operatives from the field to spot potential suspects. The Delhi police, CISF and NSG are in full force.
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