Condemning cross-border terrorism in all its forms, India and US on Tuesday called on 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 and planners of all terror attacks including 26/11 Mumbai, Uri, and Pathankot.
The joint statement issued after India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue emphasised the need for concerted action against all terrorist networks, including al-Qaeda, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar discussed various issues with visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark T Esper during the third 2+2 India-US dialogue.
They welcomed the virtual convening of the 17th meeting of the India-US Counter-Terrorism Joint Working Group and the third session of the India-U.S. Designations Dialogue on September 9-10, 2020.
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“They denounced the use of terrorist proxies and strongly condemned cross- border terrorism in all its forms. They emphasised the need for concerted action against all terrorist networks, including al-Qaeda, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen,” the joint statement said.
“The ministers called on 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 and planners of all such attacks, including 26/11 Mumbai, Uri, and Pathankot,” it added.
The Ministers expressed their commitment on continued exchange of information about sanctions and designations against terror groups and individuals, particularly in light of recent legislative changes in India, as well as countering the financing and operations of terrorist organizations, countering radicalism and terrorist use of the internet, cross-border movement of terrorists, and prosecuting, rehabilitating, and reintegrating returning terrorist fighters and family members.
During the talks, the ministers of two countries also reaffirmed their support for the early adoption of a UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) that will advance and strengthen the framework for global cooperation and reinforce the message that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism.
India and the US signed five key agreements during the 2+2 India-US ministerial-level dialogue including Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) allowing India real-time access to precision data and topographical images from United States military satellites.
The ministers applauded significant step of the signing of the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), according to the statement.
“They also welcomed enhanced maritime information sharing and maritime domain awareness between their navies and affirmed their commitment to build upon existing defence information-sharing at the joint-service and service-to-service levels and explore potential new areas of mutually beneficial cooperation,” it said.
The ministers welcomed the elevation of the India-US relationship to a Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership during the visit of President Donald J Trump to India in February 2020. “They reiterated their commitment to further strengthening India-US partnership, anchored in mutual trust and friendship, shared commitment to democracy, converging strategic interests, and robust engagement of their citizens,”
The ministers expressed their intent to expand cooperation under the 2+2 framework to realize the full potential of the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, the statement said.
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