Interpol targets Afghanistan

Afghanistan, one of the most isolated countries, is also one of the most embattled

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Global policing group Interpol says it is targeting the once isolated country of Afghanistan to become a member of its ranks, as the latest U.S.-led strike over the nation winds down.

Afghanistan is one of only three countries in Asia not a member of Interpol -- along with two other Central Asian nations -- Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.

At the start of a four-day meeting in Hong Kong focusing on how to crack down on cross-border crimes, Secretary General of Interpol Ronald Noble said they were eyeing embattled Afghanistan.

"There should be no country subscribing to the rule of law that is outside of the Interpol network," Noble told delegates from more than 30 nations in Hong Kong, including top law enforcers from Canada, the United States, China and Singapore.

The call to bring Afghanistan into the fold comes as the United States ends its two-week old Anaconda operations in the Gardez region of Afghanistan to flush out any remaining Taliban and al Qaeda fighters linked to terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden's network.

Afghanistan's fundamentalist Taliban regime was ousted by the United States last year because it gave safe harbor to bin Laden, on Interpol's wanted list since 1998, and believed to be the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks on the United States.

During two decades of war, Afghanistan became a breeding ground for anti-communist mujahidin forces with factions supporting Islamic militants around the world. It was also the world's largest illicit opium producer.

But now that a new interim government has been set up following the Taliban's demise, Interpol is keen to get this Central Asian country on board in its bid to help create a safer world.

'Hot on the trail'

U.S.-led forces have wound down their 'Anaconda operations'

Interpol has said that it would "take all the necessary steps " to encourage Afghanistan to join its ranks. Interpol, set up in 1923, is second only to the United Nations, with 179 member countries.

So far Afghanistan has not expressed formally whether it would like to be part of the group, Noble said at a press conference on Monday.

But because terrorism operates across borders -- with terrorists obtaining fake documents, weapons as well as explosives -- it is key that countries like Afghanistan come on board so that international forces can be hot on the trail of criminals.

Interpol is holding its annual meeting in October and it is there that it will decide whether Afghanistan can become a member, Noble said, hinting that the Central Asian nation might be interested in the training their group might be able to provide.

'Harmful gap'

Afghanistan is suffering from two decades of civil war

But even as Interpol seeks to enhance its operations in Asia, a region of 3.6 billion people that it has called its most "diverse" it is suffering from what could become a harmful gap in its operations.

Around half of its member countries are not able to communicate electronically, Noble says, a grave problem since many terrorist cells find safe havens in the least stable nations.

Asian Interpol members said at a regional meet in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo last month that terrorism was a "major police concern," and agreed that Interpol services in this part of the world must be strengthened.

"We are putting a proposal to poor member countries to boost their resources," Noble said.

But in the meantime he admitted that such a digital divide "reduces our effectiveness when time is of the essence. This must be corrected."