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India, China sign pact to jointly combat terrorism

By R Dutta Choudhury

GUWAHATI, Nov 13 - After months of deliberations, India and China formally signed an agreement to fight terrorism jointly. However, at the same time, India has opposed construction of road by China through the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Highly placed official sources in the Government of India told The Assam Tribune that following the signing of the formal agreement, India and China have also made the counter terrorism mechanism operational. However, sources refused to divulge the details of the mechanism.

Sources admitted that India and China have differences on several fronts, but at the same time, both the countries are aware of the fact that under the present day scenario, no country can survive without cooperation on issues of common interest. India has been adopting a zero tolerance policy on terrorism, while, at the same time, China has also started facing threat from terrorism, particularly in Xinjiang province. Sources said that there have been reports of Jehadi activities in that area of China and recently it was found that the terrorist involved in Bangkok blasts travelled from western part of China to Bangkok through India. Following such incidents, China also realized the importance of dealing with terrorism strongly and agreed to cooperate with India in this regard.

Sources said that as per the agreement, apart from working jointly to counter terrorism, both India and China would share real time intelligence to deal with the problem. It is a fact that a number of militants belonging to the outfits in the Northeast are taking shelter in China, while, the militant groups are also receiving weapons and ammunition from the clandestine arms dealers. That issue has been taken up with China. Earlier, the Government of China had always denied the presence of Indian militants in that country, but now the situation has changed and China has agreed to take action against such person. China has also asked India to provide information about the presence of militants in that country and promised immediate action, sources added.

However, sources admitted that India has serious differences with China on several issues and asserted that the Government of India would not compromise with the interests of the country while working together with China to deal with terrorism. Sources revealed that India has raised strong objection to China constructing the economic corridor to Pakistan through the PoK, while, the boundary disputes are also yet to be resolved. �In present day scenario, no country can be absolute friends or enemies. We must work together in areas of mutual interest while making efforts to resolve the differences through dialogues,� sources pointed out.

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