The Hindu : Rein in jehadi elements legally: Advani

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 18, 2003

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Rein in jehadi elements legally: Advani

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI JAN. 17. The Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, today described cross-border terrorism as the greatest threat to the country and called upon the legal fraternity in South-East Asia to enact laws to rein in jehadi elements.

Inaugurating the fifth Lawasia business conference, Mr. Advani said that terrorist outfits operating from India's immediate neighbourhood were trying to disrupt peace and progress of business in the region.

In an obvious reference to Pakistan, he said in the name of freedom struggle, these countries were actively helping the terrorists to disrupt the multi-religious harmony prevailing in the region in complete violation of the United Nations resolution to fight terrorism.

The jehadi elements had now shifted their base from Afghanistan to the immediate neighbourhood of India and were spreading their tentacles in many countries and these needed to be tackled legally.

"The legal fraternity of the region will play a crucial role in enacting laws to choke the financial channels to these elements," he said, while stressing the need to check illegal transfer of money and tax evasions of other white-collar crime syndicates affecting economies of many nations in the region.

The Chief Justice, V.N. Khare, said information technology had taken over the world market, trade and business and India had amended various laws to meet the challenges arising out of globalisation.

The Attorney-General, Soli Sorabjee, chairman of the steering committee of the conference, said that terrorism was the real challenge as in the spurious guise of freedom struggle innocent civilians, including women and children, were being massacred.

The president of Lawasia, Gordon Hughes, said the association provided an invaluable opportunity for lawyers to come together to exchange ideas and information on regional issues and to establish a network of working relationships in the region. It also strived for the protection of rule of law and advancement of legal education in the region.

Chairman of business law section of Lawasia, Masatsugu Suzuki of Japan, said India held a special position in the region and in the world for its expertise in the information and technology sector.

Eminent lawyers, judges, jurists and law teachers from 30 countries in the Asia Pacific region are attending this conference.

Issues including information technology, banking and finance, environmental law, intellectual property, infrastructure and privatisation in Asia are to be discussed in the four-day meet.

Eminent lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP, F.S. Nariman, former Union Law Minister, Arun Jaitley, the president-elect of Lawasia, G.L. Sanghi were among those who took part.

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