Instead of its traditional policy of seeing Pakistani border as source of insecurity, India is likely to develop a new policy of looking at (borders with) Nepal and Bangladesh similarly, a leading daily reported Monday.

According to Kantipur daily, the announcements that the governments of Nepal and India saw the Maoist insurgency as a common threat is a manifestation of changing Indian policy in that direction. Similarly, growing Indian concerns that Bangladesh is turning into a hub for Islamic terrorists also points towards a hardening attitude of India towards its neighbours, the daily reported.

Meanwhile, Hindustan Times, a leading Indian daily, reported Sunday that India may skip the SAARC summit due in January next year in response to recent ‘anti-India’ remarks of Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Morshad Khan. Khan had alleged Indian authorities of turning a blind eye towards ‘Bangaldeshi insurgent camps’ operating out of Indian territory, among others.

On Friday, Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran told the Bangladesh High Commissioner in Delhi that the remarks were objectionable and could negatively impact bilateral relations. The Indian government has also advised the Tatas– leading industrial group of the country– to postpone a trip to Dhaka relating to their proposed Rs 2,000 crore investment in the power, steel and fertiliser sectors, the newspaper report said. nepalnews.com by Sep 13 04