India, Malaysia to proactively engage to combat ISIS activities

New Delhi, July 18 (ANI):Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday delegation-level talks with the visiting Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Dato Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, where both nations agreed to proactively engage to combat the menace of ISIS activities. Singh said, "We are concerned about the danger of enhanced activities of ISIS in democratic countries like India and Malaysia. They have started using our countries as recruiting ground and attract our youngsters with their extremist ideology." "If we do not address it internally, and if we do not cooperate with each other through strong intelligence sharing, we will find it increasingly difficult to stop this ideology from poisoning the minds of our youngsters. India is also interested in knowing more about Malaysia's de-radicalisation programme," he added. The Home Minister proposed more regular meetings of the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes, besides regular meetings under the ambit of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Cyber Security Cooperation signed during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Malaysia in November last. Singh said the MHA was studying the comments of Malaysia on the draft MoU on Combating Transnational Crime, and hoped it would be signed expeditiously. He also hoped that an MoU on Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners would be fast-tracked. Seeking Kaula Lumpur's support, the Union Home Minister said India continued to be concerned about terrorists, who plan their activities from abroad. Expressing his satisfaction at the close bilateral security cooperation, especially on counter-terrorism, Singh lauded the Malaysian Government for its cooperation over the last few years in apprehending some of the terrorists, who were wanted in India. "We appreciate the close cooperation between our security agencies, particularly the Malaysian Special Branch on Counter-Terrorism which has been working closely with the Intelligence Bureau," he added. The two sides also discussed issues such as Extradition Treaty and Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN). The visiting delegation presented a copy of the Integrated Rehabilitation Module for Detainees in Malaysia. The Indian delegation comprised Ministers of State for Home Affairs Gangaram Hansraj Ahir and Kiren Rijiju and Senior Officers of MHA, while the Malaysian delegation included Deputy Secretary General (Bilateral Affairs), Dato Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob, High Commissioner of Malaysia to India, Datuk Naimun ashakli Mohammad and other Officers. (ANI)