Head of Strategy and Legal Department, Superintendent of Police Ahmed Shifan has assured that Maldives is fully geared to meet the threat of terrorism. In response to concerns expressed by the west as well as the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) about growing radicalisation in the Maldives, Head of Strategy and Legal Department, Superintendent of Police Ahmed Shifan emphatically stated that the problem is grossly exaggerated and that the situation is well under control.
The government is fully geared to keep track of what is happening and nip any radicalisation from the Maldives, according to the Superintendent of Police. The police spokesperson added that with the help of foreign agencies, including those of the United States, the government have been able to track down some Maldivians on the Turkey-Syria border, adding that the police service have remanded them and put them through a de-radicalisation process. Superintendent Shifan expressed that Maldives believes in reformation or rehabilitation rather than punishment emphasising that punishment does not work in such cases.
Even though the opposition had put higher figures of Maldivians enagaged in fighting in Syria, according to the Maldivian MInister of Defence and National Security Adam Shareef Umar, the number of Maldivians engaged in fighting in Syria by April 2017, was 49. The government insists that Maldives still remains one of the safest tourist destinations in the world. The Maldivian government's perspective is that radicalisation in general, and terrorist activism in particular, are individualistic phenomena and not a collective or mass phenomena in the Maldives, noted the Superintendent of Police, Ahmed Shifan.
Moreover, Maldivian Ambassador in Sri Lanka, Hussain Shareef, supported that statement by Superintendent of Police Ahmed Shifan, highlighting that there has not been a single terrorist incident in the resort islands for the world to be concerned about. Ambassador Shareef said that Maldives is a 100% Islamic country, which practices moderate form of Islam and the government has the means to enforce the moderate notion of Islam in the country.
Realising the need to protect tourism, the backbone of the economy, the Maldivian government passed an anti-terror law in 2015. Maldives has also got the police and the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Islamic Affairs to conduct an outreach programme to sensitise teachers and students to the need for being vigilant against elements trying to radicalise young people.