January 9, 2003	Thursday	Ziqa’ad 5, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 8: Despite the considerable degree of success in the fight against Al Qaeda and groups closely associated with it, Al Qaeda remains active and continues to pose a significant threat to global peace and security, says a recently circulated report of the UN Monitoring Group.

Conceding that the fight against the Al Qaeda network is proving to be a difficult and drawn out undertaking, the Monitoring Group’s latest report observes: “Al Qaeda is more than a terrorist organization that can be identified and eliminated.”

Describing Al Qaeda as an “insidious mass movement” that cannot be handled by one country or a group of countries alone, it emphasises that international cooperation needs further improvement. “Without broad information-sharing, police investigative cooperation, and application of international system-wide financial controls, Al Qaeda will continue to able to resist, recruit, and re-arm,” warns the Monitoring Group’s report.

The UN Monitoring Group was established by Security Council resolution 1390 after the 9/11 terror attacks to monitor measures taken by countries to participate in the fight against members of Al Qaeda network.

One major concern about the Al Qaeda phenomenon is that its operatives trained in Afghanistan have returned to their own countries of origin or gone to others, notes the Monitoring Group. “They have been likened to “time bombs” — when the time comes they will ‘explode’,” it forewarns.

Pointing to the most recent and alarming development of activation of new training camps in eastern Afghanistan the report alerts: “Particularly disturbing about this trend is the fact that new volunteers are making their way to the camps, swelling the numbers of would-be Al Qaeda activists and the longer term capabilities of the network.”

The Monitoring Group conveys its reservations about the application of arms embargo, saying that recent events have demonstrated that Al Qaeda continues to have access to substantial quantities of arms and explosives. “The Group also remains highly pre-occupied by the risk of Al Qaeda acquiring weapons of mass destruction or a dirty bomb,” underlines the report.

One of the most significant failings observed by the Group to date, is the apparent reluctance of many countries, for various reasons, to put forth the names and entities they have identified as Al Qaeda members, associates, or associated entities. “This includes all those individuals who, over time, have returned from training camps in Afghanistan and are known to authorities.”

These individuals, the Monitoring Group strongly recommends, should be regarded as terrorists and treated accordingly.