<p>He sought to allay concerns here that Maldives could be used as a route to attack India although he acknowledged that some nationals of his country were getting terror training in Pakistan and some other countries.<br />"Terrorism issue is apolitical. We have to get a good grip on it," Nasheed told PTI in an interview while talking about the menace which is a cause of concern for the region and beyond.<br /><br />"Security issues in Indian Ocean have lately been getting more and more serious...I mean we see the Mumbai attack also as an Indian ocean issue," he said.<br />Noting that "India's soft belly is through Indian Ocean" and no government in Delhi would be comfortable with it being exposed, he said Maldives and India are undertaking coordinated patrolling of the maritime areas.<br /><br />"We have an understanding with India in patrolling... it is happening," he said, adding India had also lent a helicopter for aerial surveillance of the Indian Ocean region.<br />Nasheed, who was here on a three-day visit during which he met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, however, favoured a framework agreement with India to take care of all issues encompassing relations between the two countries.<br /><br />"Maldives and India have several agreements but it would be better if the two countries can have one comprehensive pact to deal with all security and other issues," the 43-year-old President said in the interview parts of which were issued earlier this week. <br /><br />"Basically, we want just one agreement- framework agreement. A framework understanding. We have endless understandings and you end up not knowing what we have agreed upon. So, if we can boil it down to one agreement. We should have one basic agreement," Nasheed elaborated.<br /><br />The President was asked about reports that Maldives is witnessing growth of fundamentalist activities with Pakistani links, raising concerns here that the island nation could be used by terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba to attack India.<br />He insisted that LeT has no presence in Maldives but acknowledged the "serious" issue of emergence of some radical groups whose cadres are being trained in Pakistan.<br />The President, however, ruled out the possibility of any terror group using Maldives route to attack India, saying his country had good border control systems in place.<br /><br />There are groups which are "growing and forming themselves and they go to Pakistan and other countries and get recruited and trained and come back home," he said, adding his government is dealing with such elements, including through reformation process.<br />About four years back, a bomb exploded in Maldives capital Male and the seven people suspected behind the incident had fled to Pakistan where they had undergone training.<br />Nasheed also talked about the growing menace of piracy that is being witnessed in the Indian Ocean region and said it needs to be dealt with through joint efforts.</p>
<p>He sought to allay concerns here that Maldives could be used as a route to attack India although he acknowledged that some nationals of his country were getting terror training in Pakistan and some other countries.<br />"Terrorism issue is apolitical. We have to get a good grip on it," Nasheed told PTI in an interview while talking about the menace which is a cause of concern for the region and beyond.<br /><br />"Security issues in Indian Ocean have lately been getting more and more serious...I mean we see the Mumbai attack also as an Indian ocean issue," he said.<br />Noting that "India's soft belly is through Indian Ocean" and no government in Delhi would be comfortable with it being exposed, he said Maldives and India are undertaking coordinated patrolling of the maritime areas.<br /><br />"We have an understanding with India in patrolling... it is happening," he said, adding India had also lent a helicopter for aerial surveillance of the Indian Ocean region.<br />Nasheed, who was here on a three-day visit during which he met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, however, favoured a framework agreement with India to take care of all issues encompassing relations between the two countries.<br /><br />"Maldives and India have several agreements but it would be better if the two countries can have one comprehensive pact to deal with all security and other issues," the 43-year-old President said in the interview parts of which were issued earlier this week. <br /><br />"Basically, we want just one agreement- framework agreement. A framework understanding. We have endless understandings and you end up not knowing what we have agreed upon. So, if we can boil it down to one agreement. We should have one basic agreement," Nasheed elaborated.<br /><br />The President was asked about reports that Maldives is witnessing growth of fundamentalist activities with Pakistani links, raising concerns here that the island nation could be used by terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba to attack India.<br />He insisted that LeT has no presence in Maldives but acknowledged the "serious" issue of emergence of some radical groups whose cadres are being trained in Pakistan.<br />The President, however, ruled out the possibility of any terror group using Maldives route to attack India, saying his country had good border control systems in place.<br /><br />There are groups which are "growing and forming themselves and they go to Pakistan and other countries and get recruited and trained and come back home," he said, adding his government is dealing with such elements, including through reformation process.<br />About four years back, a bomb exploded in Maldives capital Male and the seven people suspected behind the incident had fled to Pakistan where they had undergone training.<br />Nasheed also talked about the growing menace of piracy that is being witnessed in the Indian Ocean region and said it needs to be dealt with through joint efforts.</p>