Bin Laden and company would certainly have paid attention to what was said by Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh at a BJP party briefing early this month. He said India would no longer accept ``supinely'' what was happening in Afghanistan but would henceforth pursue a ``proactive'' policy on that country. At the time of this statement Indian and US officials met to discuss Afghanistan in what was probably the first structured dialogue on the subject. A few weeks later a senior US official was in New Delhi to discuss international terrorism with Indian officials. These are among the latest signs that India and the US have a common interest in setting up counter-measures against terrorism originating in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. At some stage, India and the US will no doubt want to explore, if they have not already started doing so, the possibilities of joint action.

It is inanticipation of some such developments that threats have been issued from Jalalabad. There is nothing to be alarmed about but Indian security agencies will have to work harder to counter the terrorist threat. Recent experience suggests intelligence-gathering is not the problem so much as analysis and assessment of intelligence reports and rapid distribution of information to those who need to act on it. Greater vigilance is essential. One thing is certain. If bin Laden thinks he can turn the mixed bunch of mercenaries, fundamentalists and militants who operate out of Pakistani training camps into a united and disciplined force with one aim, he is very mistaken. He is bound to find sooner rather than later that his pockets are not deep enough to satisfy the demands on him. It is also possible that international pressure will change the Taliban's mind about hosting ``wanted terrorists''. It is clear that there are many levels at which international terrorism can be combated. But there is no scope forcomplacency.