Pokhara in Nepal is a city of casinos flowing with liquor. But it is also a hotbed of political intrigue. The Indian Mujahideen hatches in this city its anti-India operations on Indian soil, said Yasin Bhatkal recently arrested in Bihar. Pokhara has emerged as the IM’s nerve centre with Kathmandu coming under the glare of international intelligence agencies. Previously the capital was one of the bases of Pakistan’s ISI. In Pokhara, the IM’s brains trust allegedly masterminds and controls the organization’s activities in India including terror attacks, recruitment and smuggling of fake currency. The city also harbours some notorious gangsters from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. All this reminds one of the cigar-chomping air of conspiracy in Havana when the Batista regime was on its last legs.
Yasin has given details of how Indian Mujahideen operatives sneak into India from Nepal through Somauli in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Raxaul in Bihar. The border is porous and visas are not required. The IM operatives frequently visit Bihar and U.P. The situation complicates India’s relations with its neighbours. The new Prime Minister of Bhutan is on a visit to India but its relations with this country are still a little wobbly. Nepal’s internal politics are in a state of suspended animation with the interim government somehow conducting the affairs of the state. A Maoist faction continues to be pesky there. The unquiet state of affairs encourages terrorist operations emanating from the fun city. New Delhi has to tread very cautiously to persuade Nepal to snuff out the source of terror.