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New Delhi, Nov. 1: India and Syria are quietly preparing to swap visits by their internal security chiefs, their first since the emergence of the Islamic State.
Syria has invited national security adviser Ajit Doval to visit Damascus and its own interior minister Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar will soon travel here at New Delhi’s invitation, senior officials from both nations have independently confirmed.
India’s intelligence agencies are convinced that over a dozen Indian nationals have sneaked into Syria to join the IS that has snatched control of vast swathes of Iraq and north-east Syria, and has grabbed global attention by beheading hostages.
But apart from sharing very basic intelligence with Syria on the one hand, and western and West Asian nations on the other, India has so far watched the growing international efforts against the IS from the sidelines.
The proposed trips by Doval and al-Shaar — the actual visits, when made, may be kept secret and acknowledged only later, officials hinted — reflect a shift in India’s approach, steered by the growing recognition that the IS no longer represents just a distant terror group.
Security agencies have tracked down at least two dozen Indian youths planning to travel to Iraq or Syria to join the IS, including 15 from Telangana who planned to fly from Calcutta, apart from those who have already joined the terror group.
“We are ready to share all the intelligence and information we have that can help India — we need to work together,” Syria’s ambassador to India, Riad Kamel Abbas, told The Telegraph. “I know the Indian government is concerned and doing its best to protect its citizens from the IS terrorists.”
Abbas is likely to meet Doval next week to discuss the proposed visits, officials said.
The plans for the trips reflect the growing worry — bordering on desperation, one official said — within India’s security agencies over their inability to trace, within Syria, the youths who have joined the IS.
“The fear is they could serve as magnets for others from here and those Indians already in West Asia,” this official said. “Tracing them would also help us identify other Indians who may have joined, but who we aren’t aware of yet.”
Syria, searching for friends who like India don’t distinguish between terrorists and share concerns over the IS, has been “very receptive,” another official said. Damascus insists Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are propping up the IS, the best-trained and most brutal of the groups battling against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad — charges these nations deny.
But beyond India’s immediate concerns over its citizens who may have joined the IS, the visits represent a deepening of New Delhi’s involvement in a war that has both divided and united the world at the same time.
During both trips, India and Syria are expected to discuss for the first time not just details of Indian nationals lured by the IS, but broader security, intelligence and diplomatic cooperation New Delhi can offer Damascus.
“We want the Indian NSA to visit Syria to see the situation on the ground,” a Syrian official said. “That’s important to build on our security cooperation.”
The US, which is aerially bombarding IS militants while supporting other anti-Assad groups in Syria, has also been seeking greater security and intelligence cooperation from India. But as with Syria till now, India has so far largely stonewalled efforts by the US to pull it into an active role against the IS.
Last month, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Washington, the two nations had detailed talks on the IS, Indian officials said. For India, Doval led those talks.
“But the discussions weren’t of the kind the US wanted,” an official said. India made it clear it wasn’t willing to even consider any military role, and could not join the US-led coalition that has launched strikes against the IS in Syria.
Instead, India only agreed to share with the US intelligence on its nationals who may have travelled to Syria and Iraq, another Indian official said.
“That we’re stepping up cooperation with Syria while also sharing intelligence with the US may appear a contradiction to some,” the official acknowledged. “But it’s not. For us, it’s neither about Syria nor the US. It’s about what’s best for us.”
Delhi, Damascus open line on IS
@Syrian Lion
Syria has invited national security adviser Ajit Doval to visit Damascus and its own interior minister Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar will soon travel here at New Delhi’s invitation, senior officials from both nations have independently confirmed.
India’s intelligence agencies are convinced that over a dozen Indian nationals have sneaked into Syria to join the IS that has snatched control of vast swathes of Iraq and north-east Syria, and has grabbed global attention by beheading hostages.
But apart from sharing very basic intelligence with Syria on the one hand, and western and West Asian nations on the other, India has so far watched the growing international efforts against the IS from the sidelines.
The proposed trips by Doval and al-Shaar — the actual visits, when made, may be kept secret and acknowledged only later, officials hinted — reflect a shift in India’s approach, steered by the growing recognition that the IS no longer represents just a distant terror group.
Security agencies have tracked down at least two dozen Indian youths planning to travel to Iraq or Syria to join the IS, including 15 from Telangana who planned to fly from Calcutta, apart from those who have already joined the terror group.
“We are ready to share all the intelligence and information we have that can help India — we need to work together,” Syria’s ambassador to India, Riad Kamel Abbas, told The Telegraph. “I know the Indian government is concerned and doing its best to protect its citizens from the IS terrorists.”
Abbas is likely to meet Doval next week to discuss the proposed visits, officials said.
The plans for the trips reflect the growing worry — bordering on desperation, one official said — within India’s security agencies over their inability to trace, within Syria, the youths who have joined the IS.
“The fear is they could serve as magnets for others from here and those Indians already in West Asia,” this official said. “Tracing them would also help us identify other Indians who may have joined, but who we aren’t aware of yet.”
Syria, searching for friends who like India don’t distinguish between terrorists and share concerns over the IS, has been “very receptive,” another official said. Damascus insists Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are propping up the IS, the best-trained and most brutal of the groups battling against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad — charges these nations deny.
But beyond India’s immediate concerns over its citizens who may have joined the IS, the visits represent a deepening of New Delhi’s involvement in a war that has both divided and united the world at the same time.
During both trips, India and Syria are expected to discuss for the first time not just details of Indian nationals lured by the IS, but broader security, intelligence and diplomatic cooperation New Delhi can offer Damascus.
“We want the Indian NSA to visit Syria to see the situation on the ground,” a Syrian official said. “That’s important to build on our security cooperation.”
The US, which is aerially bombarding IS militants while supporting other anti-Assad groups in Syria, has also been seeking greater security and intelligence cooperation from India. But as with Syria till now, India has so far largely stonewalled efforts by the US to pull it into an active role against the IS.
Last month, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Washington, the two nations had detailed talks on the IS, Indian officials said. For India, Doval led those talks.
“But the discussions weren’t of the kind the US wanted,” an official said. India made it clear it wasn’t willing to even consider any military role, and could not join the US-led coalition that has launched strikes against the IS in Syria.
Instead, India only agreed to share with the US intelligence on its nationals who may have travelled to Syria and Iraq, another Indian official said.
“That we’re stepping up cooperation with Syria while also sharing intelligence with the US may appear a contradiction to some,” the official acknowledged. “But it’s not. For us, it’s neither about Syria nor the US. It’s about what’s best for us.”
Delhi, Damascus open line on IS
@Syrian Lion
