Bring 26/11, Pathankot perpetrators to book: India, US to Pakistan

New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) India and the US on Wednesday called upon Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack to justice.

In a joint statement issued on Wednesday following Tuesday’s Second Strategic and Commercial Dialogue here, the two sides reiterated their condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and reaffirmed their commitment to dismantle safe havens for terrorist and criminal networks such as the Islamic State (IS), Al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, D Company and its affiliates and the Haqqani Network.

Tuesday’s talks were co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and US Secretary of State John Kerry with Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman and US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker also in attendance.

"The sides called on Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai and 2016 Pathankot terrorist attacks to justice," the joint statement said.

"The sides will continue to review and consider other organisations that warrant terrorist designations, including those that engage in cross-border terrorism," it stated.

Both India and the US resolved to build on the 2015 Joint Declaration on Combating Terrorism by expanding their practical cooperation to increase their capacity to address the worldwide terrorist threat.

"The sides noted the discussions held on the full range of counter terrorism issues during the India-US Counter Terrorism Joint Working Group meeting held in July 2016 in Washington, DC, welcoming initiatives to expeditiously exchange terrorist screening information, enhance coordination on proposed UN designations of terrorist entities, and expedite mutual legal assistance requests," the statement said.

Stating that both sides were developing more joint counter-terrorism exchanges, programmes, and initiatives to deepen the bilateral partnership, it said. "The sides reaffirmed their support for a UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that advances and strengthens the framework for global cooperation to counter terrorism and reinforces that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism."

In a joint press interaction following Tuesday’s bilateral Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, both Sushma Swaraj and Kerry called upon Pakistan to dismantle safe havens for terrorists and criminal networks while saying that there can be no difference between good and bad terrorists.