Pak should take 'immediate' action to stop terrorist activities: India, US

Pakistan should take “immediate, sustained and irreversible” action to make sure that its territories are not used for terrorist activities and it should also take steps to “expeditiously bring to justice” those responsible for the attacks on Mumbai in 2008 and the Pathankot airbase, India and the US have said.

Condemning all forms of cross-border terrorism, the two countries called for concerted action against terrorist networks such as al-Qaida, Islamic State, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM).

“The two sides underlined the urgent need for Pakistan to take immediate, sustained, and irreversible action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for terrorist attacks, and to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of such attacks, including 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot,” read a joint statement issued after the 17th meeting of the India-US Counter Terrorism Joint Working Group and the third session of the India-US Designations Dialogue, which was held virtually on September 9-10 in view of the COVID pandemic.

They also discussed the threats posed by UN-sanctioned terrorist entities, the statement said.

Joint Secretary for Counter Terrorism in the Ministry of External Affairs Mahaveer Singhvi led the Indian delegation while US State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism Nathan Sales led the American team.

India and the US “shared information about their priorities and procedures for pursuing sanctions and designations against terror groups and individuals, particularly in light of recent legislative changes in India”, the statement said.

“There was a joint commitment to strengthen cooperation on information-sharing and other steps to disrupt the ability of international terrorists to travel, in line with the provisions and obligations outlined in UN Security Council Resolution (UNSC) 2396,” it said.

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The two sides also discussed ways to deal with some “pressing counter-terrorism challenges”, such as financing and operations of terrorist organisations and countering radicalisation and terrorist use of the internet.

The Mumbai attacks on November 26 in 2008, carried out by a group of 10 LeT activists, killed 166 people as the terrorists targeted famous landmarks and crowded places such as the Taj hotel and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST). Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, the terrorist caught by Indian security forces, was hanged to death for his involvement in the attacks. Pakistan has arrested seven people for planning the attacks, but their trial has not progressed much.

The attack on the Pathankot Air Force station was carried out by five JeM activists on January 2, 2016, that killed seven security officials. All the five attackers were killed.