India-US counter-terrorism ties have deepened: US official

NEW YORK: The India-US relationship on counterterrorism, "especially cross border terrorism emanating from the territory under Pakistan's control" has deepened, according to a senior US State Department official.

"We consistently speak to India and work closely together with India on issues related to counterterrorism; it's, again, I think one of the key areas in which our relationship has deepened," the official said on Thursday during a background briefing on the second edition of the India-US 2+2 Strategic Dialogue in Washington.

India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar participated in the high-level meeting on Wednesday with US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. Citing the "pretty clear language" in the 2+2 joint statement, the official underlined the key role that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which combats terrorism funding, plays "with regard to Pakistan." The joint statement also calls out the terrorist role of "al-Qaeda, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Haqqani Network, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, TTP, and D-Company" and asks Pakistan to "take immediate, sustained and irreversible action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for terrorism against other countries in any manner, and to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of cross-border terrorist attacks, including 26/11 Mumbai and Patha-nkot." (IANS)

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